Shattered
by CrazyIndigoChild
Summary: Quaxo finds himself trying to pick up the pieces of his life after being raped by his infamous father, Macavity. What he doesn't know is that there was more to his attack then he'd thought. Warning; under-aged rape, incest, blood, angst and slash
1. Shattered

**Ok, I had to post this because Misses Jellicle was harassing me and I just couldn't say no xD**

**So anywho, this is the _sister-story_ to 'Broken', IT IS NOT THE SAME STORY! Just thought I'd clear the air ;)**  
**This time, Munkustrap (amazing protector of life... I love him to bits 333) finds Macavity and Misto... What shall happen? :O I couldn't add a 3rd character but Munkustrap is definitely one of them :)**

**Please Enjoy and review! :P**

**Also, I don't see the point in saying this because I would be wasting your time by pointing out the obvious... I don't own anything except this story... minus the character _ **

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He rolled over in his light blue blankets, huffing in frustration at the bout of insomnia that's been plaguing him for the past few nights. Fortunately his lack of sleep hasn't taken too much of a toll on his tolerance for nosey Jellicles and badgering kittens that seemed to seek him out most during his frequent sleepless spells. He finally decided to give up on his quest for sleep, knowing very well that there was no use.

He stepped out from his den to find the clearing deserted, even the perch on which Munkustrap or Alonzo sat during their nightly shifts was unoccupied. Quaxo sighed, seems he wouldn't have any company for the long wait until dawn. Feeling the need to kill some time Quaxo turned to one of the many paths that led from the centre of the junkyard; taking the slightly hidden path next to the stove.

He wasn't walking for five minutes when his over-sensitive ears picked up the sound of rapid footfalls and heavy panting drawing closer at breakneck speed. He froze mid stride, squinting into the park passage before him to catch a glimpse at who would be out in the dead of night. The creature dashed past a small stream of moonlight that escaped the towers of the adjacent junk pile, a flash of gold revealed the frantic cat's identity: Demeter.

The magician opened his mouth to address the golden queen but she continued to run towards him at an incredible speed. He pressed himself against the wall of garbage that lined the right of the path; making way for Demeter to pass without running in to him. His ears twitched when he caught the stream of words that she hissed to him as she passed; run.

He leaned forward to watch her back as she dodged a protruding lead pipe, confusion caused him to fall into a spiral of thought, quickly coming to the root of his concern; run from what? Or whom?

He quickly turned around to see what ever or who ever she was running from, it didn't take him long to pick up the sounds of yet another set of fast moving paws along with the heavy panting of a predator in pursuit of his prey. This new cat had also passed beneath the little ray of moonlight as he raced along the narrow lane that made up the path.

Quaxo gasped when he saw the light reflect off the mysterious cat. The dusty coat, the red and black stripes along his back, the flash of hot red eyes that seemed to glow with enough fury to stop a raging pollicle in its tracks from a mile off. Only one cat in all of London fits the description of this monster that is now hurdling towards Quaxo at the speed of light: Macavity

He quickly ran his paws around the wall of junk to his right, searching for a crevice to hide himself in so he would hopefully go undetected by the Napoleon of crime. He found a small indent next to a shattered television set. He pressed himself inside as much as he could and waited for the ginger cat's passing;  
squeezing his eyes shut as he tried to quiet his breathing so as to make as little noise as possible.

His heart pounded in his chest as he heard the menacing cat's advance, slowing down as he approached his hiding place. He prayed to the Everlasting Cat that Macavity wouldn't pick up his scent. His silent prayers were answered when he heard the other cat dash off in Demeter's direction. He felt bad for leaving Demeter to fend for herself with Macavity, hopefully the short distraction gave her enough time to find whoever was on duty and get to safety.

He let out a sigh of relief as he hesitantly slipped out of his hiding spot and, giving one last glance at where the two disappeared, he set out for the opposite direction. He started to run towards the end of the path; putting as much distance between himself and Macavity as possible. Adrenaline coursed in his veines as he sprinted past the mountains of useless items, not noticing the barbwire that stuck out of the ground in time to avoid tripping.

He gasped in pain as the wire dug in to the delicate flesh on his foot. He quickly brushed it off and turned to continue down the path, he turned his head to find the dirty, neglected face of none other than Macavity staring back, an ugly grin plastered on his face.

"Where are you going at this hour?" he asked in a cheery tone, obviously taunting him. Quaxo quickly became aware of the trouble he was in.

"P-Please..." he stammered, a pleading tone laced his shaking voice.

"What? No 'how are you doing?', 'It's been a while, Mac'?" Macavity continued with his joyous expression, the artificial tone in his voice sent chills down the tux's spine.

"I just want to go home-" Quaxo's voice was just above a whisper. The magic cat looked over the small tom-kit, his manner quickly becoming serious once he realized the younger cat wasn't buying his little facade.

"You want to go home: You do as I say," he explained somberly. Fear welled up in the black and white cat's chest, yelling at him to turn and run. He wanted to do just that but his legs were frozen in fear as well as the rest of his body. "Don't worry, it won't hurt that much." The magic cat reached up to rub the soft fur on the almost-tom's cheek in feign of a loving gesture. Something clicked in the young cat's brain; he needed to go, now.

He turned on a dime and dashed in the opposite direction; moving as fast as his legs could carry him. Small spotlights danced across his fur as he rushed down the narrow path. He ran as fast as he could until he heard the dying sounds of the ginger cat's pursuit, even then he kept pushing on; eventually his protesting lungs forced him to slow down to a heavy walk. He glanced over his shoulder only to be met with the dark of the night behind him.

He struggled for breath but relaxed at his escape; narrow as it was. He decided to keep moving, just to be safe. The junkyard was silent, too silent, Quaxo could feel a change in the thickness of the air, something didn't feel right; nothing felt right. The second he stopped walking he was knocked to the ground from behind, glass dragging down his back as he flew forward.

Shock from the sudden attack had Quaxo dazed, something fell on him? No. The sound of heavy breathing told him that he was just tackled, the stings on his back caused by dirty, overgrown claws. He squirmed under the weight of the ginger cat and, using his own magic, he managed to wriggle out of the older cat's grasp.

"Get back here!" Macavity laughed harshly at the teen tux's escape. He reached over to grab his victim, catching hold of his white, kitten soft chest fur,  
upturning the flesh deeply as his claws dug in for grip. The small tux screamed out in pain as his white front was soon flooded with a rich red. He cried out at the blood on his revered, well groomed coat; he had never seen so much blood in his life! Granted most of his encounters with blood were from small scrapes or bloody noses.

The breath was once again knocked from his lungs when he was roughly flipped onto his back. In his panic he began to claw at the offending tom, unfortunately not doing any damage.

"Go away!" he screamed at the mystery cat.

"You have something that I want," Macavity explained. "I'm not leaving here until I get what's rightfully mine," he growled as he pressed his paw heavily on Quaxo's abdomen. He gasped at the sensation in his body, he felt unbelievable pressure on his ribs while at the same time felt like his innards were being lifted out. Pain was evident but it wasn't what had him wailing, kicking and scratching for salvation. What was he doing to him? The action left him exhausted, leaving an empty ache in his chest that could only be described as pure anguish.

Macavity was pleased that he had the chance to completely crush his rival, he didn't need any competition and he definitely didn't need him interfering his plans with the Jellicles. He didn't like that the opportunity had arisen when the magician was so young; this made the Napolean of crime look weak for going after a weak, defenceless kitten, though he knew Quaxo was anything but defenseless.

The ginger cat looked over the exposed tux; he was hyperventilating, bloody and seemed slightly lethargic. A plan formed in the magic cat's sick, twisted mind. He moved quickly as he anchored his hands on Quaxo's waist, the latter watched him in fearful concern; searching Macavity's face for a sign of what was to come. His hopeful inquiries quickly being slashed when the older tom's lips curled into a foul smile.

Without warning, Macavity violently thrusted into the unexpectant youth, causing a shriek of pain to errupt from the small runt beneath him.

"No! Stop!" Quaxo's cries were strained and shrill as he started to squirm wildly for relief from the pain engulfing his whole body. He continued to kick and scream; hoping that someone nearby would hear him and come to his rescue. His howls were suddenly cut off when an annoyed Macavity clamped his hand over the tux's mouth.

"Shut up," he growled menacingly, unaware that he was smothering the younger cat. Quaxo sobbed as the ginger cat degraded his self worth; feeling the world around him growing numb and his sight dimming, the ginger cat continued with his procedure.

"Nothing to report, it's a quiet night" Alonzo panned the clearing one last time before wishing Munkustrap a good night.

"Thank you, go get some rest," the Jellicle protector smiled kindly at the black and white tom who offered a yawn in response. Munkustrap watched in silence as his friend walked off into the dark shadows towards his den.

He pawed over to the tire and sat down on the worn rubber. He glanced to Quaxo's pipe seeing that it sat silently for the first time in weeks, he was glad that he was finally able to get some rest, though he did miss the company the magician provided.

He decided to start his rounds; beginning at the east gate. He followed his usual route, passing the old TSE1 and navigating through the piles of rusted appliances and other car parts that were strategically stacked ontop each other. He searched the areas most popular among the catnip addicts and common thieves, oddly they were quiet with only a few sleeping strays. He decided to let them sleep, seeing as they weren't causing any trouble, and carried on with his routine around the exterior of the junkyard.

His stomach clenched when he came across a strong, revolting scent. Macavity. His heart raced at the thought of his brother being rampant among the sleeping Jellicles; all susceptible to the wrath of the mystery cat. The first cats that came to his head were the ginger cat's kin, the tabby's young niece and nephew.

"I have to find Alonzo," the tabby whispered to himself; if Macavity was in the junkyard then he would need as much help as he could get to make sure everyone was safe, and hopefully keep it that way. He followed the stench up to the north end of the junkyard where it crossed with the familiar scent of a Jellicle queen: Demeter. Munkustrap turned and dashed towards Alonzo's den that, like most of the tribe, was located at the heart of the junkyard.

A loud, shrill scream floated shot through the air; only reaching Munkustrap's ears as a high, whispered cry. His trained ears perked up at the sound and his stomach churned as adrenaline coursed through his veins. He broke out into a wild sprint; just managing to avoid running into a dangling poster as he ran out onto the makeshift tire stage.

Panic clenched his chest as the cries turned into heart stopping screams. Where are you? he thought as he tried to pinpoint the direction towards the horrid noise. Alonzo appeared, wide-eyed, at the base of the stage.

"Munkustrap, what's happening?" his face was a mixture of fear and concern as he looked to the older cat for information.

"I don't know. We need to find where it's coming from," he explained quickly. A long forgotten thought stopped him in his tracks, he ran to the pipe and glanced inside, the lump of a sleeping body assured Munkustrap that his nephew was safe. His attention flinched to Victoria, his niece, but was quickly eased when he realized who she was residing with: Jennyanydots. No one, not even Macavity, would dare cross her in the middle of the night, let alone mess with one of the kittens on her watch.

"I can't tell where it's coming from!" Alonzo's head snapped in several directions, unable to point out the source of the screaming. Munkustrap had a couple ideas on where the noise could be coming from but still wasn't sure. All he knew is that it was to the left of the stage tire.

"You take the north-west paths and I'll take the south-west paths," Munkustrap instructed. The younger tom felt a small sense of ease that he was now given some form of order in the hysteria of the moment.

Munkustrap darted down the clearing towards a passage that was hidden beside the stove. He swerved around every sharp corner the maze threw at him. He could feel the tension rising in his chest and his stomach prepare itself as the now muffled screams got louder, sharper and more horrifying. He turned onto a narrow alley created by a great, solid wall of junk and garbage to find the glowing red eyes of none other than Macavity.

His coal burning eyes hovered over a small Jellicle that lay mumbling softly, listlessly under his silencing paw. It didn't take more than a second to figure out from the heavy breathing, the sharp jolting of his body, and the pleasure filled chorus of 'Deme', what the evil cat was up to. Munkustrap's throat clenched as he lowered his eyes to see who had fallen mercy to this monster. From the deep, gravelly enchanting of her name, Munkustrap assumed it was Demeter: Macavity's past lover. His heart skipped madly and his stomach threatened to discard its contents when he spotted the short, black furred cat laying beneath Macavity; much too young to be Demeter and the fact that he was the wrong gender discounted her also. One name screamed in his mind when he saw the white, blood stained chest of the teen tux: Quaxo.

Before allowing any other emotion or thought to distract him, Munkustrap marched up to the two and gave Macavity, who was too preoccupied to notice his arrival, a staggering roundhouse to the side of the head. His head snapped back from the force of the blow, causing him to release his hold over Quaxo's mouth; he gasped and wheezed as he started to whimper weakly. The offending cat released the young tux as he drew his attention towards the silver tabby, who wasted no time in continuing his attacks once he was sure Quaxo wouldn't suffer more injury.

Not having gone over his plan of action and allowing himself to be driven by rage rather than logic and reason, it was apparent that he wasn't going to be the victor in this confrontation. Surprisingly, Macavity recoiled under the furious shower of punches, kicks and scratches. Disappearing into the night before any serious injury could be inflicted; he already had what he wanted.

Munkustrap fumed as he watched his brother dissolve into the dark of night, part of him wasn't done with the sad excuse of a cat but his compassion and concern for Quaxo had his anger melting at the thought of the bloodied kit. He spun around to meet the sight of Quaxo's broken body writhing on the ground pitifully; strained sounds escaped him. The striped tom ran over to the young cat, placing a light paw of his shoulder to attract his attention.

"Quaxo?" Munkustrap repeated as he tapped the heaving tom's face gently. The black head rolled from side to side as he tried to open his eyes; spots blinded his vision as he straddled the border of consciousness. He was finally able to look up at his saviour through his haze, recognizing the usually kind, calming face of the Jellicle protector; his features now twisted into darkened shadows of fear, concern, and many other emotions.

"Munkustrap!" He sobbed, slurring the name severely. Munkustrap frowned at the small cat's distress. He lifted Quaxo's chest so that he was resting in the crook of his silver arm, he held him tightly as he gave a comforting nuzzle to the crying tux. As he looked over the victim's wounds he quickly realized how much trouble young Quaxo was in.

"We have to get you some help," he muttered mostly to himself as he lifted the tux up slowly, being sure to be wary of possible injuries he may have acquired. "Hold on, buddy." The silver tabby quickly gained speed as he took the quickest path leading to the centre of the junkyard; hopefully Jenny wasn't at her human's. He prayed to the Everlasting cat that this poor kitten's luck would shift in his favour at least once tonight.

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**There you go! Another Misto rape... only different. Poor Munkustrap, he didn't have to see that! ;D Oh, and poor Misto. Now that I think about it, this one didn't seem as bad as the last one but he came out of it with more serious injuries... hmm!**

**Also, I'll have my beta reader go over it so I'll repost with the prettier, more polished version :P**

**REVIEW OR MISTO GETS IT! ... hmmm, I need a new threat :/**


	2. Shear Wave

**So! Chapter 2... finally! I'm having a slow period (what with my working on 3 pieces and trying to balance that with school) so unfortunately, I don't even have the third chapter written -_-' ****So here's an _EXTRA_ long chapter for you :)**

**For clarification, 'Shear wave' is the S- waves (secondary) of an earthquake, often the most destructive... Just didn't want you guys to sit there like "WTF?" xD**

**FantabulousMe: It's OK! He gets a-... cool story line?... yeah ;D I felt bad for Munku :( And I loooove my Maca 33 He is soo badass... Like, how low have you gone when you rape your own son! LOW. Like... snail's flipflop low.**

**Pilali: I did it again! But I am not cruel, I just enjoy angst and less... gushy stuff. Well... for now I guess. Yaaaay, I'm happy that my writing's still appealing :D Especially at it's lowest xD**

**Enjoy!**

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Quaxo whimpered and wheezed as Munkustrap jogged lightly in the dark; deseperately trying not to bounce the fragile frame in his arms too much. Ugly shadows cast off by the staring towers in the night. He shushed the tux lightly when his whimpering turned into small sobs, his attempts at comforting the young tux met deaf ears.

"Munkustrap?" He jumped at the sound, his guard quickly eased when a breathless Alonzo came running into view. The black and white furred tom's eyes dropped to Quaxo, his eyes growing wide as saucers when he took in the poor state of the teen tux. He opened his mouth to speak but no words could escape his lips, he just gawked helplessly at the blood dripping from the affected form.

"We need to alert the other Jellicles that Macavity's in the junkyard. Wake them up and keep them together while I take Quaxo to Jenny's," Munkustrap ordered, understanding that his young apprentice was overwhelmed at the sight of such a violent act; he didn't need to see more than he had to. The other tom nodded before running ahead, Munkustrap turned the final corner into the clearing.

He crossed the clearing to Jenny and Skimble's den, he hoped that none of the kittens would have to see their beloved magician as he regretfully rapped on the door. He could hear Tumblebrutus call out to Skimble to answer the door,_ please don't make the kit answer the door, Skimble,_ he thought to himself. The door creaked open to find a sleepy Skimbleshanks. His jaw dropped the second he saw the tabby and his charge.

"Skimble, we need to see Jenny right away," Munkustrap rushed; unable to hide the urgency and panic in his voice. The railway cat cringed when Quaxo let out a dry, anguished cry as he buried his face in the tabby's soft, silver chest fur. Skimble closed the door behind him as he crossed the threshold.

"Munk, Jenny's not here. She's at her human's," he explained regretfully. The second shoe dropped in his mind, _of all nights Jenny could be at her human's- _The two tom's attention was quickly drawn when a small chorus of gasps floated from the window beside the door. Electra, Etcetra, Tumble and Pouncival stared out the hole in the den with aghast expressions, all eyes on the continuously bleeding Quaxo in their protector's arms; all of them too shocked to either speak out or burst into tears. They were both relieved to see that Victoria, Quaxo's sister, was not among the crowd of awaken kittens.

"Go back to bed, now!" Skimble snapped harshly, waving them off. Munkustrap had no time to deal with nosy kittens at the moment.

"I'm going to Jelly's," he told the orange cat, who seemed saddened by the fact that he couldn't be of any use to the young victim that lay before him.

"Well, Jenny's home isn't too far away; I could run and fetch her," he offered hopefully.

"Skimble, the kittens," Munkustrap nodded towards the four kits in the window; he didn't want them to be at risk, but he did need Jenny's help. The sound of freshly woken, frightened Jellicles could be heard as Alonzo went from den to den; there would be cats to tend to the kittens. He nodded eagerly, Skimble reached inside to grab his vest before dashing off to get Jenny, luckily he passed Admetus on the way who decided to accompany him.

"Tumble, find a queen to watch over you when the others are out," Munkustrap addressed the oldest of the kittens. Tumble nodded quietly, giving the small tux one last glance before turning to the other kittens inside. Munkustrap spun on his heel and dashed to Jelly's den, trying to ignore the pained cries emanating from his charge. Gasps echoed around him as he passed through the clearing.

Alonzo was in the process of explaining the situation about Macavity briefly to Asparagus and Jelly when Munkustrap came into view. Jelly's hand fluttered up to her chest when Quaxo turned his head to face her; coughing up a small amount of blood onto his already soiled coat.

"Oh, my..." she trailed off before she was finally able to process what was in front of her. "We need to go to Jenny's," she explained.

"Jenny's not here; Skimble's going to get her," Munkustrap explained to the sandy-coloured queen.

"All of her equipment and supplies are in her den," she replied, it was apparent to the toms that she was trying to hold back a flow of emotion. Munkustrap rolled his eyes inwardly as he turned to go back the way they just came, he looked down at the shivering frame in his arms; _Quaxo can't take much more of this._

When they emerged into the clearing, most of the older cats were gathered around the tire stage, Demeter noticed Munkustrap walking past them alongside Jellylorum. Nearby cats followed her gaze and grew quiet with interest at what he was carrying; many walking over to catch a better look at the poor creature who had the Jellicle protector running around in a frenzy.

Victoria and Jemima, the two kittens who weren't woken up when Munkustrap came to the door, sat sleepily by the stove with the other kittens, who were whispering quietly amongst themselves. Tumble had woken her up not too long before and escorted the kittens out of the den to find an adult to watch them, none of the other kittens would tell her or Jemima what was going on which annoyed her very much. She realized that something serious was going on when all the grown cats started to gather together, worried and confused expressions dressed their sleepy faces. She laughed internally when she saw that her older brother wasn't among the crowd of grown ups or kittens, she felt sorry for him sometimes because he wasn't old enough to be with the cats but was too old to be interested in the kittens.

"C'mon, Jemima, Let's go wake up Quaxo," she whispered connivingly. Jemima gave a wry smile.

"Okay." The two kittens snuck by the others and moved undetected by the older crowd. They finally made it to her brother's pipe; she peeked inside to find the lump of blankets at the back of the pipe. She shushed Jemima quietly as they creeped up to the mass, she counted down from three until they both glomped the sleeping Quaxo. To their dismay, the pile quickly deflated to the bottom of the pipe under their weight.

"Quaxo?" Victoria looked under the blankets just in case, she glanced worriedly at Jemima who offered a shrug. They left the pipe to confront the queens and toms at the tire.

"Where's my brother?" Victoria asked as she tugged on Bombalurina's tail. The scarlet queen gave her a quizzical look as she nodded towards the den from which they came, Victoria shook her head no.

"Hey, guys, where's Quaxo?" Bomba asked as she turned to the crowd who, in turn, shrugged. "You know your brother; always off somewhere practicing his magic, he'll turn up," she assured before turning back to the others; a murmur of Macavity's appearance buzzed around the group.

"Who turn up?" Victoria turned around to see a wide eyed Alonzo.

"Quaxo, my brother," she replied. He shifted uncomfortably in front of the queen-kit; a guilty look plastered on his spotted face.

"I'm sure we'll hear about him soon," he told her slowly, deliberately, before turning and walking off to talk to Asparagus. Victoria rolled her eyes as the Rum Tum Tugger waltzed in with Cassandra draped on his arm, Etcetera shrieked as she attached herself to his leg and filled him in on most of the details; well, only the ones Tumble said she could tell.

Moments later Victoria was startled she heard Demteter let out a choked sob; Munkustrap was walking through the clearing, an injured being in his arms. The Jellicles gathered in front of the silver tabby, though not blocking his way. Most of the queens started to cry and the toms bowed their heads in silence or held onto their more emotional counterparts. Victoria tried to see around the bodies, dodging between legs and jumping between the slumped shoulders to get a better view. She finally found an empty space next to the Rum Tum Tugger who had just shrugged off Cassandra from her hold on his arm. She stood up, looking past Tugger at the center of everyone's attention. Her heart stopped dead in it's tracks when she saw the bloodied form of her beloved brother.

"No!" She screamed as she leapt forward to meet the striped tabby. Strong arms grabbed her from behind as Munkustrap made his way past the snow white queen; Quaxo sliding a pained glance at his sister, trying to give her a weak smile before wincing at a pang in his side followed by a small trickle of blood that streaked the ground as they passed. The arms around her tensed as their owner reacted to the sight before them; Victoria looked up to see the horrified face of the Rum Tum Tugger: Quaxo's best friend.

Munkustrap and Jellylorum disappeared from the prying view of the Jellicle tribe into the kitten's den. The look on everyone's faces almost made Munkustrap wish that he wasn't the Jellicle protector, just almost. Jellylorum ran around the two bedroom den in search for the supplies she would need to treat the small tom's many wounds. She motioned the silver tom to place Quaxo on a small, white sheet she had found near Jenny's stash of sterile medical supplies, hoping to reduce the risk of an infection should Quaxo survive the night.

Munkustrap put the kit on his side as he tried to find a suitable position to accommodate his inflictions and cause as little pain as possible. Icy blue eyes stared up at him through a thick film of tears, silently begging him to somehow stop the pain that was ravaging his body: looking for comfort. Munkustrap gave him a warm, reassuring smile though his heart shattered for the young tom. He felt as if he let his nephew down. The day he swore to take care and protect the tuxedoed kitten looped through his head; the voices echoing deep in his mind the very promise he gave to this once lonely fur ball: to be the father Macavity could never be.

***  
Old Deuteronomy sat in front of Munkustrap; explaining the protocol for handling rabbid pollicles who happened to wander into the yard, the black striped tom was fairly new at the job and was still in need of guidance and on-the-job learning. The other Jellicles were wandering about, napping, or doing their own errands or social updates. Deuteronomy was just finishing up his lesson when a golden queen ran into the clearing shrieking Macavity's name.

Munkustrap immediately tensed at the name; looking around for sign of the ginger cat's entrance. Surely enough, the Napoleon of crime climbed over the TSE1, snarling at anyone who dared be in his sights. He carried a brown cloth sac over his shoulder and looked slightly dazed as he walked over to the middle of the clearing.

"My mate has died," he announced to no one in particular, a shock of whispers was heard among the Jellicles that pressed themselves up against the wall surrounding the clearing; his recent mate had been a Jellicle and a close friend to most of the tribe. "I'm done with this." He dropped the brown sac onto the cold, February ground and it gave a loud thump as it landed. Munkustrap's stomach did flips as the unnatural thud sounded a lot like a body.

"Is that all?" Deuteronomy spoke up against his eldest son. The ginger cat simply nodded and disappeared into a flash of orange light, this was unusual for the confident tom who usually stuck around to test the skill of the strongest Jellicles.

They all stared wearily at the sack, expecting something to jump out and attack in the abscence of Macavity's. Munkustrap's father nudged him and motioned to the mysterious sack that, to Munkustrap, seemed to twitch and quiver under the heavy and expectant gazes of the crowd. He picked it up and glanced into the mouth of the dark bag, his breath shaking in preparation for what could be inside.

Two blinking eyes stared out at him in shock; one pair a forest green and the other an electric blue. He reached into the bag to feel the tiny critters, one leaning into the touch as he brushed his paw against it's kitten soft fur. He moved his hand until he could feel the loose skin of a scruff under his paw, he gently latched on and pulled the kitten out of the bag; out coming a snow white queen. The crowd blinked in amazement at the sight of the harmless kitten, kicking themselves internally for thinking it a threat. He set her down next to his leg as he reached in for the other kitten, most likely her littermate. He pulled out an unusually small, tuxedoed tom who immediately locked his icy blue eyes with the tabby's chocolate browns: instantly catching the older cat's heart and evoking his need to protect all things weak and vulnerable.

The queens immediately took to making a fuss over the new kittens, Jenny scooped up the white queen who happily nuzzled her the moment she was wrapped up in loving arms. The kitten's brother, however, took to cringing away from any of the Jellicles who set their eyes on him and cowered from the reaching hands of the older cats. They were both undernourished and feeble compared to the kittens born in the tribe but they were, undoubtably, Jellicles. They were pretty good looking kittens who would grow to be good looking cats, what with the right care and attention.

Deuteronomy looked upon his grand-children from his perch on the tire, unsure of wether to be proud of or disgusted with the result of his evil son's kin. "Bring them here," he ordered softly. Jenny and Munkustrap both moved forward with each their own kitten, Munkustrap's cowering in the crook of his arm.

"What are your names?" he asked them in a voice a parent would use to speak to their very young child without sounding like an idiot. They both looked at each other before deciding it was best they comply with the old tom's requests.

"I'm Victoria. My mom says that I'm named after a great queen!" the white kitten exclaimed from her nest in Jenny's arms. All eyes shifted to her brother who peeked out from Munkustrap's arm to speak. "I'm Quaxo, sir," he spoke out softly and quite articulately. The ancient cat looked down on them as he quietly inspected them one by one; he finally ended by pointing into his middle son's arms. "This one has magic; We must be wary of the power he may possess. Either than that I don't see why they can't make their home among their own kind," he smiled warmly as the other Jellicles looked up in adoration and admiration at his great compassion .

"Now," he continued once a wave of comments passed through the tribe, the group hummed with excitement until they shushed each other into silence. "We need to find a place for them. Someone to teach them how to act as we do and help them prepare for adulthood... any takers?" Although everyone was excited about the newcomers, there just wasn't enough space for anyone to take in extra kittens. Many had children of their own and didn't have room or enough time to care for another.

"I'm sure I can take in Victoria, Skimble and I can squeeze her into our den," Jenny spoke out as Victoria nuzzled her shoulder. Quaxo looked out longingly at his sister; she was so outgoing and friendly that it was no surprise that she would be chosen first. No one wanted an antisocial weirdo like him in their den, much less their _home_.

"I'll look after Quaxo," Munkustrap said, Deuteronomy looked at him in amused surprise.

"Will you be able to handle having a kitten around your den?" he asked slowly. Munkustrap's brother, the Rum Tum Tugger, shared a den with him at the time so the kitten would have two cats to chase after him, and it's not like Munkustrap would be busy all the time. He nodded to his father; ignoring the wide, blue orbs that stared up at him from his arms. "Alright then," he smiled at the two youths. "Welcome to the tribe." He gave another warm glance at the two before nodding to their new caretakers. Munkustrap sighed, Tugger won't be happy about his agreeing to take in little Quaxo but, afterall, he was family. He looked down to the small tuxedo cat who continued to stare back with caution, giving a comforting pat on the head as he turned to introduce him to his new home.

"Don't worry, Quaxo," he whispered as he stroked the thin black fur on the kitten's back. "I'll be twice the father my brother never was," he promised as he spotted his younger brother rounding the corner, pressing forward to update him on their future arrangements.  
***

He shook his head slightly to rid him of this constant replay, knowing that letting these accusing, haunting thoughts and memories get to him wasn't going to help Quaxo get any better; he needed to be strong for the kit who so desperately looked to him for guidance.

"You're going to be OK, son," he whispered as he stroked the still kitten-soft fur on his head. Jellylorum came back with some clean cloth, a bowl of water and several items to help mend back what was left of a broken Quaxo.

* * *

**So, it looks like Munkustrap has paternal feelings for his nephew. Do I smell a possible future murder! :O "You hurt my-your-our? Son! You must dieee!" *queue fight to the death scene where Munkustrap emerges from the burning building that holds a half dead Macavity until it blows up, Munkustrap awesomely not flinching. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand queue Misto/Tugger comfort sex scene :P**

**Naaaah, I'm just teasing you now... or am I? Possible foreshadowing? Perhaps... Perhaps not O_O**

**Please Review! I shall dance a jig for every comment, and they are mighty fine jigs too ;)**


	3. Adding Insult to injury

Okk, I haven't even started a chapter 4 yet but I'll try to have it up for next week :) This chapter kinda made me feel bad for Tugger :( But I figured that it was time to torture someone besides Quaxo, though Munkustrap is getting a lot of this angst :( Poor guy.

Ahahaaaa... You guy smake me laugh xD I was kidding about the whole "fight to the death..." and all that! I have something planned for Misto, trust me :} You honestly didn't think I was going to let him off that easily did you!

Also, our fellow CATS fan and friend of mine Pilali is very sick and is in the hospital :( She's not doing so great and I fear for her. Hopefully she makes it out alright and can come back to us. Please keep her in your prayers.

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"Where are they?" Jennyanydots asked as she, Skimble, and Admetus marched into the buzzing clearing. Her answer was quickly answered when she saw the quiet, saddened mass of cats outside her and Skimble's den. She sped towards the crate that made up her home, bracing herself in the process. She was distracted when she saw Victoria sobbing on the ground beneath the cardboard covered window, Bombalurina, Demeter and the kittens were comforting her quietly with gentle, careful words.

"It's going to be OK, dear," Jenny put a paw on the queen as she tried to choke back sobs; they came out as ugly, chopped groans in her ungraceful attempt to stop the heavy flow of emotion, looking up at the wise queen with hopeful eyes. Jenny gave the others a quick nod, almost a uncontrolled jerk of the chin, before turning into the ominous door of her den.

She gasped when she saw Munkustrap and Jellylorum tending to a barely conscious Quaxo, their expressions grim as the sight before them. Just by looking at the crimsom soaked tom she could tell that Quaxo had lost a lot of blood and that his chances of survival were slipping out their hands like sand. A wave of apprehension passed over her when she saw Munkustrap huddled form by his head, whispering words of encouragement; she gave the tabby a quick pat on the back as she took a glance at the black kit's face. He was staring up wildly at his guardian, his dulled blue eyes concentrated with dedication solely on the older tom while Jellylorum tended to his major wounds as best she could.

Giving a small prayer to the Everlasting Cat, she knelt next to Munkustrap and began cleaning the deep gouges that allowed a continuous flow of blood to ooze out rapidly and flood his chest fur.

"Munkustrap," Jenny said after a few minutes. "I think we're going to have to take more drastic measures."

The Rum Tum Tugger sat outside of Jenny's den with the other cats, waiting for some word on his friend's condition. He and Quaxo were always pretty close after their rocky start when he was a tiny kitten; he had adopted an easygoing, laid back big brother approach while Munkustrap was more of a father to the little furball. He knew that Munkustrap didn't appeal to his method of helping to raise him but that was the only way Tugger knew how to connect withthe tiny tyrant, so they became close friends.

Alonzo sat next to the door, securing a perimeter around the entrance so no nosy cats could listen in or prevent the cats inside from getting out. He stareddown at the ground sadly, tossing glances at a distressed Victoria every now and again; needless to say she wasn't taking the pressure very well. Tugger got up and walked over to the black and white tom, Alonzo opened his mouth to tell Tugger to get back but was cut off when the mane coon spoke out first.

"Did you find him?" Alonzo blinked for a minute before shaking his head no, he didn't meet the golden eyes of the flirt. "Do you know where he found Quaxo?"he asked, hoping for a more complex answer than simple head movements.

"I'm not sure, Tugger. I think it was in the west end, I couldn't say really," he responded with slight agitation; he didn't have time to deal with Tugger's silly questions, it certainly wasn't appropriate.

Tugger's jaw tensed at the response. "You can't remember where Munkustrap found him? No idea?" Tugger pressed. Alonzo rolled his eyes as he went over where he met up with the two earlier.

"I think it was by the old trailer, not too far from there at least," he responded before stealing a glance at Victoria who sat near the window on the oppositeside of the door. His eyes snapped back to Tugger when an errand thought flickered in his mind. "Isn't that close to your den?" he asked, a slight tone of accusation laced his voice. Many of the nearby cats turned to face the leopard spotted tom who sported a look of shock and guilt. His better mind told him to say nothing and keep his mouth shut, locking his clenched jaw in place.

"Yeah." He finally said, his jaw releasing its vice grip on his tongue. "My den's near there," he muttered. Many in the group gasped slightly or bowed their heads in shame; glad they weren't in his shoes.

"And you didn't hear him?" Victoria cried out. Her voice was slightly shrill from trying not to sob or completely snap on the maine coon. Tugger shook his head no. "You were right there, Tugger!" she raged. He knew that she had every right to be upset right now and was probably just venting, but she still didn't need to rub it in. Beyond popular belief, Tugger did have a heart and cared about everyone in one way or another. Sure he slept with all the queens and used them for his personal gain, it didn't mean that he didn't care for them.

"I didn't hear him either," Cassandra spoke up, trying to cover for her evening companion. A snarl of disgust broke out from one of the angered Jellicles,others snorted as it was no surprise that he was with a queen.

"Maybe he didn't scream!" Tugger blurted out, a young child making up excuses for his parents, a roar of anger rung in the clearing and a 'We should beat the living daylights out of him and see if he screams' called out by an unknown speaker. The sentence contracted in his stomach violently, making him wince.

"Maybe he heard him but was too afraid to do anything, I know I would be," sweet, young Jemima offered.

"Scared or not, he should still have done something," Asparagus chimed in from his place next to a shaking Pouncival. "Quaxo would've at least tried to help if it were Tugger who was being attacked." The crowd nodded in agreement. By this time, most of the Jellicles were mainly venting out their fears and agitation over the situation. They needed someone to take the blame for this crime; someone that they could easily attack, Tugger fit the bill because he was the closest one to the scene. No one wanted to admit, though they all secretly knew, that the blame could not be placed on any one person but a series of unfortunate events that somehow got tangled into this one big mess of a disaster.

"Well I'm not Quaxo!" Tugger was furious; it wasn't his fault that Macavity had decided to come to the junkyard, it wasn't his fault that Quaxo was out alone, it wasn't his fault that he couldn't hear the little tux's screams... if he managed any. He knew that none of this was his fault, though he still couldn't help but feeling as though he held some responsibility.

"Now neither is Quaxo," Victoria muttered soberly. The crowd went silent at the queen's words; what she had said was probably true, their magician would never be the same. Tugger broke the silence with a loud sigh before shoving past Alonzo into Jenny's den.

Once inside, he was met with the sight of Jennyanydots taking an electric razor to Quaxo's stained chestfur, Munkustrap was supporting his chest as she buzzed along the border black and white fur. Jellylorum was bandaging his already shaven leg, she did a double take in Tugger's direction when she heard a light gasp.

"What are you doing?" he practically yelled. Quaxo had been so insane over keeping his coat nice and proper, he would never have imagined him letting Jenny shave it off without a fight. The other cats paused to steal a glance at him; their eyes revealed their remorse over the desecration of his esteemed coat.

"We had to, Tugger," Munkustrap croaked, he looked horrible as he watched Tugger's face cautiously. Tugger also took pride in his long coat, he was probably the one who taught Quaxo to be so obsessive with his hygenic habits, so naturally he would have a bigger issue over the insult this added to the young tux's injury.

"If he keeps his fur the wounds could become infected. Besides, his white fur was beyond repair, he would have to have it shaven off anyways," Jenny explained to the downed cat. Could he have prevented this too?

"What about winter?" Tugger spoke up, this was obviously not an issue before Jenny brought out the clippers. "He already has a hard time as it is with his short fur." She removed the razor for a moment as she pondered his question; her brow furrowed in thought for but a brief moment.

"I don't know, Tugger," she admitted. "What I do know is that this is safer for him; it's what's in his best interest." She offered a somewhat, though obviously feigned, reassuring smile before bringing the razor back to life and resumed with her task.

"So what exactly happened?" Tugger muttered as he watched the last of the cottony, snow white fur fall from the unconscious tux's body. No one answered, for they saw no need when he spotted the bloodied mess on the sheet near his tail. He inhaled deeply, holding back a very un-Tugger-like flow of emotion. Not knowing what else to do he walked over to Munkustrap's side.

He knelt beside him and stroked the black head fur gently as Jenny started to disinfect and bandage the deep gouges on Quaxo's chest and back, the scratches on his back were shallow and bening so it went unscathed by Jenny's cutters. Tugger stared sadly at the tux's sleep-like features, his eyes were moist from all the crying and pain, his face was caked with sweat and dirt and light blue and purple spots started to leak through his thin, white face fur.

Tugger glanced at Munkustrap, whose eyes were downcast as he watched his adoptive son lay oblivious to the damage brought upon his tiny, fragile body. He swiped at his cheeks when fat tears crept down his face, he had to be strong for Quaxo.

"He's just a kitten," Munkustrap whispered to no one in particular. This caused a small pang in the company's hearts, the young tux probably had no clue what sex was; neither Munkustrap nor Tugger ever really saw the need to speak to him about it, he showed no interest in the subject so they saw no real reason to explain it to him. They could only imagine the confusion and fear that Quaxo endured, and had yet to suffer.

Jenny gave a huge sigh as she straightened up from her work. "He should be good for now. We'll need to change his bandages every now and again but the worst is over."

"Not even," Tugger muttered, still looking down at the unmoving kitten. Silence was all that followed, the room was still as death itself.

"Think we should let Victoria in now? She's probably been tearing out her fur this whole time," Munkustrap asked vacantly, not really caring about the white queen much.

"Think she can handle it?" Tugger asked in response as he raised his eyes to look at his silver brother. Munkustrap just shrugged in response; never taking his eyes off the victimized tom in his arms. They sat in silence as the older queens cleaned up and left to wash Quaxo's blood from their paws and fur, Tugger glanced at Munkustrap when he made several attempts to speak.

"Maybe, if I had decided to start at the west gate-" the tabby's voice was shaky and heavy with guilt. Cracking under the reservoir of emotions he blocked out to be strong for Quaxo.

"Munkustrap, don't you dare think for a minute that this was your fault!" Tugger scolded his older brother sternly, he could see the tears pooling in this deep brown eyes.

"But I was suppose to be taking care of him! I was suppose to be protecting him from that monster... I was trying so hard to be the father Macavity couldn't be, look what happened! Am I any better than he is for letting this happen?" Munustrap's rage was slowly seeping through his armor, his heroic bravado losing control over his emotions. This was personal, no one messed with Quaxo without having to deal with Munkustrap's wrath. Tugger could only stare at the defeated tabby as he held the only child he knew close to him.

"It wasn't only your fault, Munkus," Tugger spoke softly. "I was closest to him, I could have done something. If I wasn't with Cassie, then I could have heard him. If I-"

"There's nothing you could have done but got yourself killed, it wasn't your fault, Tug," Munkustrap stated. Oddly enough, this reassured the maine coon somewhat. He knew that none of this was his fault, he just needed someone else to see it too to justify his innocence. Another long silence fell between them; it seemed that, in silence, they could escape the heavy haze of guilt, fear, uncertainty, and ignore the loss of innocence, if only for a second. They searched for such release while they listened to Quaxo's deep and laboured breathing.

"You'll have to wait until Munkustrap speaks to you," they heard Jennyanydots' response to one of the tribe members. A small glance passed between Tugger and Munkustrap.

"What are you going to tell them?" his voice rested just above a whisper, what he decided to reveal to the Jellicles could quite possibly destroy Quaxo's future in the tribe.

"The truth," he responded simply, his light brown gaze following Tugger's motions as he absently pulled at his leg fur. "They need to know how dangerous Macavity is, they need to be aware of what he's capable of; and if them knowing could save a couple accidents with Quaxo along the way then maybe it's for the best."

"Bast, you think the whole tribe needs to know what he's been through? This isn't just getting in a scuffle with the wrong cat; this was..." he faultered at the word, _rape_. It felt unreal, like this was just something he heard of on the tele in his human's home; none of that was real... right?. None of this was real, he would get up in the morning and find Quaxo fishing by the pond. Nothing would have changed.

"They don't need to know all the details, not that we could really give them any, they just need to be aware. They have a right to know."

Tugger wanted to talk back, if it were he in Quaxo's place he surely wouldn't appreciate the whole tribe knowing about this; he would have everyone think that he was roughed up by a scraggly alley queen before having anyone think he was raped. The defeated look on the tabby's face and the pained glaze in his eyestold him that for once in his life he should keep his comments to himself.

Munkustrap heaved a great sigh before handing the tiny tux to the Rum Tum Tugger; reluctantly releasing his hold on the exposed youth and climbing to his feet.

"I should get this over with before it gets too hard," he muttered to himself, turning to the door as he gathered what was left of his courage to face the anxious mass waiting outside. The door groaned sadly as closed behind the silver cat. Tugger looked to the sleeping form in his arms, bending down to give his shoulder a soft nuzzle.

"I'm so sorry Quax," he whispered into his black headfur as he gingerly hugged the tux closer to himself, praying desperately that this was just one twisted nightmare. He listened to the diluted reactions of their peers as Munkustrap explained to them what happened, he covered the youth's ears in hopes of blocking out his sister's mournful sobs and cries.

* * *

Poor Quaxo :( Hopefully things'll turn around for him... Though I doubt it ;) JKS!

Also, I am to address the controversy of the Tugger and Misto/Quaxo being related. Them being related or not is **completely up to your interpretation of the content**. I suggested that they were related because in my interpretation they are nephew and uncle. I didn't fully acknowledge or make _direct_ references between them, and I won't, because I understand that there are people who would find this uncomfortable... though you _are_ reading a story where a teenager was raped by his father so the incest shock shouldn't be as huge with this little quirk.

Questions, comments, concerns are welcome :) Reviews are good too, *jigg*


	4. Because He Needed Me

Eeeeek! Ok, I loooooove the ending to this one so I HAD to get it up here a day early xD

HumanGuineapig: Lol, 'Misto got raped... But I feel _REALLY_ bad for Munkus :(' xD That's why I like you xP

Misses Jellicle: I can think of a few choice words besides 'Butt' that could describe him... But afterall, this _IS_ a family site xD

Okk, there's this really awesome review that didn't work but I got it in a PM. I love it:

_Iamtwilight: **"**you are evil. im not een being a little funny with this, i would say i hate you right now but its a bit strong. i dislike you...alot. how could you do that to Misto. i nearlly come to tears when you revealed he was being shaved. i cant beleive it. its just not right. and what are you doing to bboth vicky and him, you are tramatizing them. right now i feel justified to say it. I HATE YOU SOOOO MUCH RIGHT NOW...but, plz update soon. i wanna see it hopefully (but with you i doubt it) get better_  
_lots of hate from your out of her god damn minmd to still be reading this avid reader,**"**_ -Lol, at first, I thought you were seriously flaming me but then- yeah xD I hope I kinda made it up to you in this chapter. You're not out of your mind, you're just... a couple fries short of a happy meal so to say xD

* * *

_Warm golden hues surrounded him as he dozed lightly, peace and happiness was the only emotion he could describe. He smiled at the sound of giggling kittens in the background, the area was lively with good humour and busy Jellicles._

_"Munk!" He opened his eyes at the feel of small paws land on his chest, luckily the kitten wasn't very heavy. He opened his eyes to see a cheerful white face peer back, head cocked to the side in interest._

_"Hey, Quaxo," Munkustrap smiled warmly, to which he received an equally joyful grin. He reached up to ruffle the kit's fur softly._

_"Can you tell me a story?" the small voice pleaded. Munkustrap smiled; no one loved his stories more than Quaxo. He lifted his head to meet the tux's who was now lounging on his chest, he looked over the small kitten._

_"You're dirty," he pointed out with a small grimace. Quaxo's smile faltered a bit as he put two and two together... Munkustrap would make him take a bath before he got his story. He shook his head no._

_"I'm not dirty! I took a bath last night!" he explained. Munkustrap knew very well when he last had his bath; he was the one who bathed him._

_"Yes, but rolling around in dirt discounts the whole 'just had a bath' claim. No bath, no story," Munkustrap knew he had the kitten pinned either way. Quaxo didn't mind having baths, in fact he often insisted that his coat just wasn't clean enough. Munkustrap was working on teaching the kit how to clean himself, of course Quaxo could never attain the effect he desired... thanks a lot, Tugger. It sometimes seemed that Tugger was fixed on making his job harder, as if it wasn't a challenge enough already._

_Before Quaxo could answer; Munkustrap rolled over on his side, grabbed the tiny kitten, and started cleaning the grime off his dark coat._

_"Muuunk! Stooop, everyone's watching!" Quaxo whined as he struggled to break loose of his hold, laughing when Munkustrap purposely stuck his paw on his face to keep him in place._

_"Oh, no one cares. They've all had to be cleaned before," Munkustrap reasoned between licks._

_"Even Rumpus Cat?... Even you?" Quaxo gasped at the thought of the great Rumpus Cat and the great Protector having to be cleaned by their parents. Giggling at the thought of Munkustrap being cleaned by Old Deuteronomy and the Rumpus Cat being cleaned by an older, queen version of himself. The only response was a deep 'mhmmm' from the older cat as he cleaned the tux's chest._

_A light breeze passed over the two as Munkustrap continued his procedure, how quickly the temperature changed amazed him when he felt the small form in his arms shiver. Munkustrap frowned when the younger tom started to whimper sadly._

_He opened his eyes to see Quaxo's bloodied form laying in his arms, crying softly. Munkustrap noticed that the golden warmth of the sun had been replaced by the cold, heartless stare of the quarter-moon._

_"Munk," the tux cried sorrowfully, his voice and body remaining a very young kitten in his arms. "Tell me a story?" he pleaded weakly_

Munkustrap gasped. His eyes flying open, gold and red sunlight pooled into the den from the tiny window to his left. It was just a dream...well... half of it anyways. He went over the sweeter part of his dream, he had told Quaxo a story about a cat named Puss who walked around in boots and wore a cape when he had finished cleaning him. Quaxo loved that story.

He looked over, the small tux was sleeping beside him, snuggled up against his back just as he did when he was a young kitten. Munkustrap looked around the room, Jenny was sleeping in her chair in the corner with an old tattered blanket and her knitting needles. Tugger slept on the other side of the tux, curled up protectively by Quaxo's chest. He looked at the tiny face by his side, he looked horrible; like he had been hit by a truck. The blues and purples on his face and the bandages around his chest quickly brought the tabby back to the present, taking his heart down with his mood and dropping it into his stomach.

He curled up facing the tom, how could he make this better? He just wished that, like dirt, he could just wash off the bruises and pain like he used to. He placed a light paw on his head, ruffling the still kitten soft fur... Quaxo didn't laugh this time: there was nothing. As he removed his paw from the other tom's headfur a residue of dried blood smudge came off with it, _had no one cleaned him?_

He got up and tiredly dragged himself across the small den; picking up bloodied rags and blankets on his way to dump them in the corner. He made his way over to the small tin tub that Jenny used to keep the clean water she collected. He grabbed a nearby bowl and dunked the plastic container into the crystal pool, catching his reflection in the bottom of the tub. He looked horrible, like he hadn't slept for years, blood caked his front and some mixed with the silver on his face. He sighed to himself before carting the bowl over to the tux.

Tugger woke up to the sound of fabric being torn. He opened his warm, honey eyes to see Munkustrap tearing off a piece of an old sheet. He gave the tabby a small nod when brown eyes interlocked with his.

"Quaxo's all dirty, I'm going to clean him," Munkustrap stated blankly, his voice was vacant and tired. Tugger nodded again. It was apparent to the mained coon that his older brother wasn't exactly in the right frame of mind to be argued with, it almost looked like he was on parent overdrive, a condition he had only seen the tabby in once or twice before.

"I'll help you," he said as he sat up. Munkustrap gave him an odd look before handing him the torn sheet uncertainly.

They both dipped their fabric in the lukewarm water and started to wipe off the residue from Quaxo's fur. Only stopping when the tux stirred, light blue eyes sliding open for a split second before clamping shut against the sunlight that flooded the den.

"Sto-op" he croaked sadly, fear laced his words bitterly. Tears started to leak from behind his closed lids, the two toms put their rags aside; unsure of what to do next.

"We're just cleaning you, Quaxo," Munkustrap reassured. Quaxo murmured something before rolling over onto his side and hugged himself tightly, falling back to sleep within a few seconds. "Can you finish up Tugger? I have to go talk to dad," Munkustrap looked to the coon, he nodded slightly before tearing a new cloth.

Munkustrap took another glance at Jennyanydots who slept soundly in her old wooden chair, one would think that a queen who had a whole internal alarm for sneaky kittens would have woken up by now. He shrugged half-heartedly; it was a long night, she deserved the rest.

He walked to the door of the den and slowly pushed it open. The clearing was sprinkled with cats, some slept nearby while others monitored Jenny's den for any word on the magician. Munkustrap closed the door softly behind him; noticing the snowy queen sleeping up against the wall in Plato's arms. Plato, who had woken up when he heard stirring in the den, took in the tabby's exhausted state with red and slightly swollen eyes, he gave Munkustrap a small nod before resting his head on his queenfriend's and closed his eyes tiredly.

It didn't take the Jellicle protector long to arrive at Deuteronomy's den. He was wondering if he had seen the tux tom last night, no, he thought suddenly, Deuteronomy was at his human's last night. He knocked weakly on the door, hoping that he had decided to come visit the junkyard today; he really didn't want to have to disturb him at his human's home.

Deuteronomy opened the door slowly, one look at his middle child had his heart was dropping beats... something was wrong.

Munkustrap, what-" he was cut off when the younger tom wrapped his arms around his loose, furry form. He hesitantly pulled his child close to him, his concern was growing by the second, what is it that has Munkustrap in such a wreck?

"Oh, Dad!" he groaned miserably into his chest, Deuteronomy buried his head in the silver and black striped headfur, he hadn't been in such a situation with the tabby since he was a kitten.

"What is it my son?" Deuteronomy murmured patiently.

"Quaxo!" Munkustrap sobbed. "Macavity raped Quaxo!" He broke down once he spat those hideous words, saying them made it all the more real now, he didn't realize how much pain was hidden along with the truth. Is this what being a parent felt like? He felt more like a kitten at the moment more than anything.

"Come, let's sit down," Deuteronomy shakily led him into the collapsed shed that made up his den. Could it be true?

_Oo oO  
O  
Oo oO_

Tugger stared up at the ceiling in thought, _who could do such a thing to such an innocent kitten? Of all the things he's done! His own son!_ The voice in his head grew louder as his anger boiled in his chest.

"Tug?" his mind snapped back to the present, someone said his name? He sat up and looked around the single room den, Jenny's chair was vacant but the queen was nowhere to be seen. He finally looked to the only other cat in the room. Quaxo's electric blue eyes stared up at him from his spot on the floor, they seemed careful, as if at any moment Tugger was going to turn on him as well. This actually hurt the leopard spotted tom, his own best friend didn't trust him now.

"Hey, Quax," he smiled brightly as he leaned down to meet his level. "How are you feeling?" _'How are you feeling?' This kid just got the greatest shock of his life and that's all you have to say? Bast, Tugger!_

The small tom looked at him for a long time, Tugger didn't think the kit was going to answer him until he took in a shaky breath to speak.

"Where's Munkustrap?" he asked softly. Tugger's face fell, he felt a bit tossed to the side but he didn't really hold the tux at fault for it.

"He's gone to talk to Old Deuteronomy. He should be back soon," Quaxo's disappointed look went straight to the coon's heart. What the kitten needed right now was his father... His _real_ father. "Do you want me to go get him?" he asked, trying to keep his expression light for the younger tom's sake. Quaxo shifted uncomfortably, both physically and mentally, _why was he talking to Old D?_

"Am I going to be banned?" he asked in response. His eyes rested just beside Tugger's head, unwilling to look at him directly.

"Why would you be banned? Quax, this wasn't your fault; none of this was _ever_ your fault. Deuteronomy would never banish you, you're staying right here," He explained quickly. Quaxo simply nodded before taking a long, shaky breath; wincing at the pain all over his body.

"I'm thirsty, may I please have a drink?" Tugger couldn't help but crack a small smile; even at his lowest he was still polite little Quaxo.

"Sure," he nodded before darting across the room. He filled a tiny, green plastic cup full of water from Jenny's tub and rushed it back to him. He gingerly reached under the tux to help him into a semi-sitting position, being wary of his wounds, and brought the cup to his mouth. The kitten drank hungrily until the cup was devoid of the liquid. Tugger retracted the green container and placed it to the side.

Quaxo felt a burning pain all over his body, he shifted his gaze to observe the constriction on his chest. He couldn't contain the pathetic, strangled sob that escaped his raw throat when he caught sight of the bandages that replaced portions of his fur; which, to his dismay, had been shaven off. Tugger watched sadly as his young companion took in the condition of his body that, not 24 hours ago, had been in immaculate condition. Quaxo looked at him desperately in his torment, looking for the coon to say something, to do something, to make him feel the least bit better.

Tugger understood this look the moment his eyes met the dried wells of the grieving tux, he needed to do something- anything- to help his friend out. He gently set Quaxo down, got up, and walked over to Jenny's corner of the den. Quaxo observed him cautiously as he disappeared behind a thick sheet that separated the communal part of the den from her supplies and remedies.

Quaxo gingerly turned onto his side, being sure to keep tabs on Tugger's whereabouts at all time... _Why am I worried about Tugger? I still trust him, he's done nothing wrong, never has and never will._ He agreed that there was no real danger with Tugger, but he still made sure that he would be able to see him when he re-emerged. He closed his eyes when a lonely fear crept up on him, he felt too much alone right now even though Tugger wasn't even in another room, he felt vulnerable. If _he_ came back...

Tugger emerged from behind the sheet with a new confidence. He walked over to the tux, who still kept his eyes closed in a poor attempt to find the dreamless, thoughtless sleep he'd been in since the night before.

"Now you don't have to be alone," Tugger spoke with confidence and a slight sense of pride. Intrigued by the tone and the sentence altogether, the young tom opened his eyes to find Tugger standing a safe distance in front of him. His eyes grew wide and a wave of happiness and pride filled the gap in his chest; for, standing tall and proud in front of him, was the Rum Tum Tugger sans his glorious mane.

"Tugger..." Quaxo squeaked in shock and admiration. "Y-you didn't have to do this," he stammered in disbelief. A wide and genuine smile crept onto the coon's face.

"No, I had to," Tugger stated matter-of-factly. "My best friend needed me. Besides, it'll grow back," he grinned humbly, sitting in front of the younger tom.

Quaxo chuckled softly, still in shock that the usually self-conscious flirt would commit such a drastic and, well, generous act. He pushed himself up on his elbows and reached out for the leopard spotted cat. Tugger crawled forward to wrap his arms very lightly around the little kit.

"Thank you," Quaxo whispered graciously.

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Awwwwww, *chills* I love that! Oh, credit where it's due, Tugger's hair style courtesy of DontBeAZombie ;D

And great news everyone! Pilali's back! *crowd cheers* yaaaaay! Welcome :) Now she can watch as Quaxo slowly loses his mind :| lol, jokes!

Please Review, I have cookies for everyone!


	5. Crossfire

**Sorry this one took soo long to post up -_- I've been SWAMPED lately and- ugh, school is such an inconvenience! **

**So here's the Misto- Vicky moment we've kinda been waiting for. Nothing too special, well, I can't say nothing because that may be a lie depending on who reads it and I should probably stop rambling before I bore the life out of you O_O**

**Eeek, review response time!**

**FantabulousMe: Aww, thank you :3 I was really happy with how that turned out. Awwww fests are nice. Sorry if I creeped you out, though of all the things in this fic there surely are more things that would be freakier than a dream xD... nightmare, sorry.**

**Iamtwilight: Lol, I'm glad :D I knew they were around here somewhere ;) Usually, for me, they're under the car seat. I hate it when your car starts smelling like McD's fries, granted I don't have a car but I don't like it happening to other people's cars either. Oh, hun, the light's still a ways off... sorry.**

**miss mistalee: Ummm, I don't know if you're flaming me or what but there_ is _a 'Back' button if you don't like what you read. I know rape is a horrible thing, which is kinda why I didn't make this a humour fic and put warnings. I think, as long as I'm treating the situation respectfully, there really isn't any need for flaming; but please let me know if you do find anything in here (besides the rape itself) that is offensive.**

**Ummm... Enjoy?**

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"The Great Rumpus Cat!" the chorus sang out. Quaxo spun his head around to see the Rumpus Cat soar through the air behind the tire, gasping at the bright red eyes that peered out of the dark junk pile. Tumble, who sat next to him, turned to see what his friend was looking at. They both shook in fright as the frightening monster winked at them teasingly, consequently not helping ease their fears. Terrifying stories they'd heard from the other kittens started to play through his head, he knew that they weren't allowed to tell those stories and they would get in trouble if the adults found out but this was an emergency! His vision was obstructed when Munkustrap walked past him to go meet the scary eyes cat, not Munkustrap! He lunged forward and latched desperately to his tail having missed his foot.

"Munkustrap, No!" he shrieked. Tumblebrutus reciprocated and latched onto the Protector's foot.

"The Rumpus Cat's going to get you!" Tumble cried. Munkustrap gave them a quizzical look before exchanging glances with the cat in question, who just so happen to be Admetus in disguise.

"What do you mean? Rumpus Cat's not going to get me-"

"He's going to eat you! And then us! Please don't go Munkus!" Quaxo wailed, tightening his grip on the silver stipped tail. Munkustrap looked around with a light pink blush for the freaking kittens; many of the adults, kittens included, were giggling at the display. Munkustrap slowly started to trudge forward, ignoring the fearful cries of the two tom kits. Rumpus Cat got up and revealed himself from his hiding place, looking slightly embarrassed that he had scared the little toms. Quaxo and Tumble clamped their eyes shut, if they looked at the fiery orbs directly their eyes would melt.

Munkustrap stopped a few feet in front of the concealed Admetus, he picked the two kits up gently by the scruff of the neck and held them out in front of him. Admetus took off his mask, giving a goofy grin to the amused company.

"Look," Munkustrap ordered softly. The two kits slowly opened their eyes to see a laughing Admetus standing a couple feet in front of them... in a Rumpus Cat costume!

"No way!" Quaxo exclaimed, Where's the real Rumpus Cat? It's kinda pointless to sing about the Rumpus Cat with a fake Rumpus! Despite his fear, he was a little bit disappointed.

"Way," Admetus affirmed as he scratched the kittens' bellies, smiling when they gave a wave of happy giggles. "Now," he started as he pulled his mask back on. "Shall we continue with the song?"

Quaxo's ears perked up when the sond of light knocking reached his keen ears. His eyes flew open in a wave of panic, he sighed when he was met with the careful, puffy face of his littermate. Tugger, who stood guard by the door, looked between the two before deciding she was safe. He got up and headed past the snowy queen, giving her a small nod before he pushed past her.

"I like your fur," she smiled softly after him.

"Hey," she greeted softly, unsure whether to run up and squeeze him until his eyes popped out or stay back at a 'safe' distance as Jenny suggested. Quaxo could see her uncertainty, he appreciated that she didn't want to freak him out but he felt a bit ashamed that his own sister didn't want to touch him, though he couldn't blame her.

"Hi," he whispered back. He tried to push himself in a sitting position but the gouges on his chest, which had started to seep in protest, kept him from moving on his own. He tightened the blanket around his midsection, trying to cover the shame he had brought on to them. Victoria sighed when he fell back onto the blankets; panting from the pain.

She slowly crossed the room and quietly sunk to the floor next to him; she felt so useless, a backstabber, incompetent almost. She couldn't do or say anything to make the pain go away, to rid her brother of the insane guilt he wears so clearly on his face. The snowy queen reached down to grab Quaxo's paw and took it into her's.

"I'm so sorry, Quaxo," she squeaked, she could feel the burning, the immense pressure building in her chest as it tried to force tears and useless sobs from the helpless queen. Unable to help herself; she deflated onto his shoulder and began to sob loudly, she could feel his body go stiff and tense but he didn't push her off. This doesn't feel right anymore. He didn't feel like her brother anymore.

He patted her head softly. "What do you have to be sorry for?" he rasped, trying to contain the slight discomfort as well as the tears he knew weren't there. He had used them all up already; though it didn't reduce how close he was to breaking down.

"I wasn't there, I could have saved you or something!" she whispered. All that met her was silence, he took a long breath.

"So you could be the one lying here? So you could be in pain? So you could be as disgusted with yourself?" She looked up in shock. His voice was so fervent, so sure that she was at a loss of words. "Victoria, I don't, for one second, regret that it was me he hurt and not you. And that's how I want you to feel too,"

"Quaxo, you know I can't-" How could he be asking her to do this!

"Yes, you can. And you will, because I'm glad he didn't hurt you," he stated coolly. She didn't have a doubt in her mind that he meant what he said, she just wished that he could look at her without seeing _Him_, she just wished that she could have her kind, caring, gentle Quaxo back. She smiled weakly, though it didn't reach her eyes and nodded in agreement.

Quaxo stole a glance at his sister as she was wiping the tears from her eyes. She looked so innocent and vulnerable, but was she really? Were they both born from the same circumstances that he was living? Were they a freak accident? Maybe they weren't as innocent as most thought, maybe he was getting some sort of payback for being_ His_ child. He was, after all, a part of _Him._

He just couldn't bear to look at her, she was His fault. He was His fault, though he already hated himself now.

"Where is he?" A loud voice bellowed from outside. They glanced at each other quickly, Bustopher Jones?

"Hey, what are you-? You can't go in there!" they heard Asparagus voice shout from the den next door. They both stared at the door in shock as it nearly blew off its hinges, Bustopher Jones stood tall in the light of the midday sun, next to him was a tom who looked about a few years older than him. The other tom looked a bit like a male version of Etcetera but had creamy coloured fur and a skunk stripe running down his back, Quaxo immediately remembered the tom as Bustopher's servant Perceus. He remembered him from his occasional visits when he was a young kit and the one time they visited him and Victoria when their mother died.

The overweight tuxedoed tom gingerly waddled over to crouch by his young nephew."Oh, by God!" Bustopher gasped at the sight of the afflicted cat. "Get up, son. We're going to take you where it's safe," he smiled warmly. He waved Perceus over, motioning to Quaxo's other side where Victoria sat in silent shock.

"Hello, Victoria."Perceus smiled politely. "Hello Quaxo," he greeted softly as the older toms prepared to help him stand.

Bustopher counted them down from three and they both eased Quaxo into a standing position. He yelped in pain as his knees gave away beneath him, everything hurt and he had no energy to be up walking around, let alone walk all the way to Bustopher's home in Victoria grove. Dark spots floated in his vision and the blood rushed in his ears, he could almost feel every cut, buise and break in his body try to drag him back onto the floor but his uncle and Perceus's hold on prevented him doing so.

"Put him down!" Victoria protested. "He's supposed to be resting," she argued, being rudely ignored. "Munkustrap!" She darted from the den ahead of them in search for Quaxo's guardian, Munkustrap wouldn't let this happen.

The young tux squinted fiercely when he was brought out the door, the sun was a lot brighter then he remembered. He groaned miserably when an icy chill saturated his exposed skin, he quickly became too aware of the fur-less portions of his body.

"It's alright, Quaxo. When we get home you can lounge by the fire, roast yourself as much as you want," Perceus assured. A fire sounded heavenly right now but he didn't want to leave the junkyard, especially without Munkustrap.

"I'm tired," he whined weakly. There were other things he wanted right now, like to be put down so he could maybe get some rest or possibly some alone time, he doubted that he wouldn't be getting any peace anytime soon.

"I know, son," came the pitiful reply.

Quaxo soon realized where he was and became extremely self-conscious when all the eyes of the Jellicles were on him. Many were calling out to them, Bustopher mainly, and some even tried to take him from them. Alonzo was standing in their way; trying to slow them down until Munkustrap or Old Deuteronomy could handle the situation.

"Bustopher! What in Cat's name are you doing with him?" Munkustrap roared as he ran towards the trio.

"I'm taking care of my nephew!"Bustopher bellowed back. "It's obvious that you are unable to, so now I'm taking him with me before the poor kit gets killed!"

The silver tabby quickly reached them and was now having a staring contest with Bustopher Jones who had just released his side of Quaxo over to Perceus; Quaxo leaned uncomfortably against the older tom as he waited for his fate to be decided.

"He's fine now. We can handle it from here, thank you," Munkustrap finally muttered through a clenched jaw.

"Well, apparently not! If I can just waltz in there and take him as easily as I did; there's no stopping Macavity from getting to him," the fat tom laughed bitterly. Quaxo cringed at the name, he wanted to throw up at the mention of His name, but then he would spew all over poor Perceus, he didn't want that.

"I'm his guardian, he is my responsibility. Therefore, you have no right coming in here and dragging him wherever you please."

"Well if you're such a good parent tell me how this happened!" He motioned towards Quaxo who seemed to deflate under the pressure. If he could, he would've just ran, run away from all this trouble, run away from what he had selfishly brought upon the tribe. Munkustrap's face fell, Bustopher had hit a soft spot.

"I know," he muttered sadly. "But I'm trying as hard as I can to make things right. You can't take him away from me, not now," he pleaded. Quaxo's eyes widened, the look on his father's face was heartbreaking and his voice didn't help any.

The old tuxed tom's face softened a bit in sympathy. "I'm only keeping the kit's best interest in mind."

Perceus shifted under Quaxo's weight and suddenly scooped him up in his arms and started to carry him off, panic struck the young tux when the crowd around him burst out in protest. Munkustrap's face suddenly became distressed; causing Quaxo's blurry mind to finally put his body in motion.

"Munkustrap!" he cried out as he began to kick and pry himself from the vice grip. His heart raced fiercely when he couldn't find a weakness in Perceus's hold; he was trapped. He kicked harder to the point where, in the middle of chaos, he hit the ground; making a light thud but managing to throw all his injuries into temporary shock.

His body hummed with uncertainty, was he feeling any pain? Why did his arms feel numb? Stars once again sprinkled his vision as his per-feral vision started to melt away to darkness. Munkustrap and Tugger were both by his side before he realized it, though he could have been lying there for half and hour as far as he knew. They spoke to him but he couldn't hear them. He was so tired and in so much pain that he couldn't resist the temptation of unconsciousness, he almost didn't care what would happen to him now, as long as he didn't have to deal with it right now.

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Awww :( Poor Quaxo. So what do you guys think? Is he going to wake up at Uncle Busty's place? MAYBE! So, it's 12:00 right now but I HAD to post this. Don't tell my dad, I'll know if you did! Shhhhhhhhhh!

Also, if there is anything you find that was inappropriately handled throughout the story, I would like to know :)

Reviews are golden!


	6. Darkened Earth

_Okk, here's a slightly meh chapter. I swear, I have something BIG planned for the next one! Just bear with the lack of epicnicity in this chappy. I'll probably change it later anyways so it's more interesting -_- ******SPOILER ALERT*** **Tugger says 'shit', what a potty mouth! _

_Tugger sounds too... intelligent?... in this chapter :/ But I guess he's kinda had to grow up a bit._

_Review response time!_

_Iamtwilight: Well, I'm glad that you are so optimistic :) The light is there, just not yet. I hope you keep your faith and optimism when sh*t hits the fan xD_

_Calanarie: Yes I did! Perceus was perfect for the job... now I must kill him :| JOKING, God, take a joke! I also thought that kicking and screaming would be more interesting._

_SolemnDreamer: Strawberry-rhubarb please!_

_FantabulousMe: x3 Thank you! Flamers suck, but having their flames be true is even worse; just making sure. Yeah, Poor Busty :( I actually really like him which is why I gave him such a part but I wasn't too happy when I realized people would only see him as an A-hole. Yes, Misto doesn't deserve to go through all this, but that's the beauty of fanfiction, it doesn't actually happen! So Misto's safe :)_

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Quaxo woke up to the sound of Munkustrap and Jenny mumbling quietly as she finished checking him over and started the unfavourable task changing his bandages. "It's been days, Jenny. Are you sure this is normal?" he heard Munkustrap's worried voice right behind him.

"He's grieving, Munkustrap. If sleeping helps him cope who are we to take that from him?" she replied softly as she peeled back the larger bandage around his chest. He winced as the bandage clung to the blood-sticky skin on his chest. He was a bit confused over why Munkustrap was so worried; he was just tired. It's not like he hasn't been eating or cries at every hour of the night, he just wanted some rest and alone time.

"Ow, Jenny," he whimpered when the pulling and tearing continued.

"Speaking of the devil," Jenny laughed as his eyes fluttered open. Munkustrap tossed her a relieved look before softly nuzzling Quaxo's shoulder who, to his surprise, gently nuzzled back.

"How are you feeling, son?" he asked patiently.

"I guess I feel better, though my chest is a bit sensitive," he yawned cautiously; not wanting to disturb Jenny's work. That wasn't exactly the answer the tabby was looking for but he'll take what he can get.

"I'm sure it'll heal up in no time," he assured and the room went silent once again. When Jenny's was finished she got up and gave the two toms some room, she knew that Munkustrap would have to tell Quaxo about the arrangement with Bustopher Jones sooner or later; and knowing this cat, it would be sooner. Quaxo watched as they exchanged one last worried glance before they were finally alone.

"Quaxo, there's something I need to talk to you about. Do you think you're up for it?"

"Uh, I guess," Quaxo hesitated.

"You sure? If you want I could always talk to you about it later-"

"What is it?" Quaxo asked, he wasn't liking where this was going. Was he going to be banished?

"When you were brought here after the incident with your uncle, he and I discussed your arrangements." he paused to take a deep, long breath; he didn't like saying this just about as much as Quaxo wouldn't like hearing it. "When the weather cools down, you're going to go live with him for the cold months."

"What? Y-your sending me away? This is my home," he squeaked. "Am I too much of a bother? I'll get better, I swear I will!" Fresh tears started to sting the backs of his eyes, they didn't want him anymore.

"No, Quaxo, nothing like that. Don't rush yourself into recovery. It's just that winter in the junkyard is harsh, you of all cats would know, and we don't want you freezing to death if your fur doesn't grow back fast enough. The snow is coming sooner than we expect, I just don't want to risk losing you." Quaxo's mind was reeling. I cant believe they're sending me away... the solemn silence from the kit unnerved the tabby, he just wish he could know what was going through his thoughts, find out how bad he was actually taking the news.

"I want you to understand, Quaxo, that this is for you. I-I couldnt forgive myself if I let something else happened to you." Quaxo wiped away the fresh tears pooling in his eyes and nodded.

"I understand. Just...Just, I dont want to be alone. I don't want you to leave me-" Munkustrap pulled Quaxo into a hug, regretting it the moment he felt Quaxo tensed in his arms.

"Dont worry. I will never ever leave you." He sniffled back the tears as he held the tux's shaking form, he could feel the dampness on his shoulder from his silent tears. Quaxo snuggled closer; burying himself in the hollow of the tabby's neck. The contact was still uncomfortable but Munkustrap was safe; he was, afterall, his father. No one else. No matter what blood said.

"I love you, dad," he whispered into the soft, fluffy fur on his neck. It wasn't too often they referred to each other as father and son, but to Quaxo it felt normal, Munkustrap did raise him as he would his own son. Quaxo knew that it made Munkustrap happy too.

Munkustrap smiled widely as he hugged the tux closer. "I love you too, son." They sat for a while in each other's arms, Quaxo sighed; his life was collapsing around him so quickly that he wondered if he would ever be able to save any of it, maybe he should just stop fighting it. Nothing he did was going to save him from the pain and disappointment that was in store for him.

The two sat in silence until Quaxo had fallen asleep in the safety of the tabby's arms. Munkustrap laid the sleeping form on his plush nest, curling up protectively beside him. His eyes grew heavy and soon he found himself slipping into a light, undisturbed sleep.

Oo oO  
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Oo oO

A light knocking sound came from the front of the den before the Rum Tum Tugger's head peeked in, the corners of his mouth twitched uncertainly. He retreated when he realized the toms were sleeping; closing the door softly behind him. He turned and headed for one of the trails that lead from the clearing, maybe a little walk would help relieve some stress.

As he exited the junkyard's social center; he saw Victoria and Plato talking quietly on a stack of milk crates. A small twist of anger formed in his stomach at the white queen, she hadn't visited her brother since Bustopher's visit and he doubted that she was planning on seeing him anytime soon the way she was carrying on.

He walked slowly as the faded path unrolled in front of him. The cold, late November air danced in his mane and lightly brushed his skin; Quaxo would be leaving for Bustopher Jones's home soon. He would have to make sure to visit him often.

Preoccupied, Tugger didn't notice the smaller queen standing a few feet in front of him until he bumped into her.

"Oh, Demeter. Sorry," he smiled dismissively. The golden queen looked startled but also somewhat ashamed.

"Oh, it's fine, Tugger," she turned her head away from the curious cat, his interest was immediately piqued by her usual behaviour.

"Penny for your thoughts?" He inquired, he didn't really care about her problems or concerns; he just needed something to kill time and help take his mind off things. Though he wouldn't mind knowing what had the usually dreadful queen in such a state.

"You couldn't afford it," she laughed after a second. She started to moved forward along the path and Tugger easily fell into step with her.

"Take IOUs?" he joked wryly, she just smiled before turning her head to the front. They walked for a few moments without speaking.

"Ever wonder why bad things happen to good cats?" she asked.

Tugger nodded slightly. "Sure I do, but I guess bad things happen to everyone whether they deserve it or not. Accidents happen to the best of us," he shrugged.

"What if those accidents weren't meant for them, what if they just happen to cross paths with someone else's problems?" she continued. Tugger gave her a slight side glance, what was she getting at?

"Well, it's unfortunate but I guess we can't dwell on every cat whose gotten in the way of our own sufferings; we'd all go mad," he reasoned. They stopped walking and solemnly stared at the patch of earth in front of them, darkened with blood. The junkyard was suddenly too silent to them, it listened to the slow, synchronized breathing of the two witnesses, neither of them sure what to do.

"Macavity wasn't Quaxo's accident," she stated bluntly. The maine coon's stomach turned in its already twisted state, he looked to the golden queen for further explanation. "He was coming for me, Quaxo got in the way."

He stared at her uncertainly. He honestly had no response to her confession, he was shocked.

"This was all my fault!" she croaked miserably. "I saw him, I told him to run... and I left him." She turned to Tugger for some sign of approval, someone to say it wasn't her fault; that she did all she could do. "If I had any idea..." she trailed off.

"Why didn't you go for help?" he asked flatly. She didn't need his sympathy; she came out of this unscathed. Quaxo suffered for her, he lost her battle, surely he deserved all the glory and sympathy from all this.

"I don't know. I just hid, I couldn't think," she shook herself from the mental images. He was right there, she could have dragged him with her and they could have both escaped. "How is he, by the way?"

"He's, uh, he's not doing so great, I guess. I don't really know, though." No one in the Jellicle tribe has ever had to face a situation like this, so it was hard to tell whether anything Quaxo did or any reaction he had was 'normal'.

She nodded, understanding the sub-text in his response. "Could I visit him?"

Tugger shrugged indifferently. "I don't see no reason why not. Though you might want to talk to Munkustrap or Jenny and maybe explain what happened in case Quaxo freaks out or something," he suggested as a precaution.

"Ok. Thank you, Tugger." She turned from the accusing patch of earth in front of them. "I'll see you around,"

Oo oO  
O  
Oo oO

The evening sun was setting and the temperature was dropping with it. Winter was coming all too quickly this year. Victoria walked past the door to Jennyanydots's den, hearing soft crying floating lightly from the window. She sighed as she guiltily tugged at the fur on her arm, she felt horribly bad for her brother. Her ears perked up at the deep sound of someone clearing their throat; her head snapped up to see Tugger eying her curiously and with some expectation.

"Tugger, what are you doing here?" she gasped slightly in shock.

"I should be asking you the same question," he responded icily. The snowy queen lowered her head before nodding quizzically to the blue bundle in his arms. "It's his blanket, it's going to be cold tonight; and I thought a little something from home couldn't hurt him either."

"That's nice," she responded curtly. Tugger only nodded before he started past her, stopping just outside of listening range to any cats inside the den.

"It's not fair, what you're doing to him," he stated. Victoria only stared at him blankly, making him a bit unsure whether or not he should continue. "He waits for you to visit him, you know. He may not show it but aside from Munkus you're the closest thing he's got to his old life. Maybe you should help him cope instead of pushing him away because _you're _uncomfortable."

"He's not the same, he hardly feels like my brother anymore," she whispered regretfully.

"Well no shit," Tugger scoffed. "You can't just come back from something like that, it takes time."

"I'm well aware of that, Tugger! It's just- I can't look at him the same way anymore! This- this isn't natural! Do you think I want to push him away? I would give anything to have the old Quaxo back; but I can't!" she almost screamed. Tugger's face remained indifferent to her outburst. The cold wind began to pick up as the last shadows of day began to fade behind the horizon. She should be getting inside soon; rules have become strict.

"It's called sacrifice, Victoria. I'm sure if I can do it, you can too," he muttered venomously before turning to the door to the den. He stepped aside when Demeter exited the den, her face puffy but a significantly relaxed mood lightened her steps as she quickly strode to her den across the clearing.

Tugger pulled the door open with his foot as he waltzed into the candlelit den, throwing the fluffy duvet on the unexpectant tux. Quaxo chuckled when he was almost taken out by the thick cover, but quickly regained his posture and wrapped the light blue blanket around him securely; looking more like a young child then an almost-tom.

Munkustrap nodded a gracious 'thank you' to the mained coon, quickly followed by the tom's muffled 'thanks, Tug'.

"No prob, tux. By the way, don't make plans for tomorrow," he instructed. "I'm taking you outside. Quaxo shall be a hermit no more!" he exclaimed as he left the den before Jenny was given the opportunity to kick him out. Quaxo looked nervously to Munkustrap who shrugged; just as confused as he was unsure.  


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_So there it is! I decided that you guys have been really good to me so this turned into a really long chapter! It's a treat I guess. Please RXR! And I'll put something big in the next chapter! Eeeeeek! Can't wait!_


	7. Shortcircuit

**Steel wool does not come from electric sheep... Who knew! *********WOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, 1,000 hits!********** I saw the 999th and I wanted to smack my head off the desk xD I'm excited!**

**Sorry this took a bit longer than expected, I'm a sucker for detail and I thought that since you guys had to wait too long so I made this one a whopping 2,730 words long! :O ~gasp~ You're very welcome ;) TuggerxMisto touchy moment in here! :3 **

**SolemnDreamer: NICE! ~stuffs face~ And I agree! Not enough MistoxTug! ~burns tongue~ Aw- Damn it!**

**.: Thanks :D I looove new reviewers! Oh, did you see the commercial where- :| shutting up now. Sooooo... You like it? ;)**

**FantabulousMe : Hope I delievered :D there's another big thing next chappy too :P Iz is excited!**

**All: QUAXO SHALL BE A HERMIT NO MORE! **

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Quaxo woke up to Munkustrap's soft breath fanning his face, he was finding it very hard to sleep alone now. He felt OK having time to himself during the day but at night...

He looked over Munkustrap to the window on their left, he didn't like sleeping by the window anymore; he couldn't. The sky was still dark but a small wisp of white light faded into the dark, oceanic depths, Quaxo sighed, he had made it until the morning.

He gingerly unraveled his blanket, it was spotted in blood from the oozing, yet healing, cuts on his body. He didn't mind all too much, Jenny would go crazy when she saw the light marks and clean it like crazy. She's had a lot of practice from all the bloody noses acquired by the kittens over the years, Quaxo being one of them himself.

"Help!" Quaxo jumped at the sudden cry, his head wheeled around the room in search for the cat in need. His frantic gaze rested on landed on Munkustrap.

"Munk, wake up!" he shrieked. Munkustrap shot up in shock, had Macavity returned? He scanned the room before turning his attention to Quaxo who was still shaking his arm roughly. Fear flooded his features.

"What is it!" he panicked. Strangled and inarticulate sounds escaped the young tux before he started to make sense.

"There was- Someone's in trouble! I heard them but- I don't know!" he freaked. Realization dawned on the tabby, it was probably a nightmare.

"Quaxo, I think you might have been dreaming," he sighed in relief, Quaxo really had him scared for a minute.

"No, I heard it! They- they were calling for help," he explained. Munkustrap smiled understandingly, there was only one way to calm the tux's fears.

"Want me to peek out the door and check?" he offered as he tried to suppress a yawn. Quaxo nodded his head fervently; practically pushing him to the door.

Munkustrap opened the door wide and stepped outside, he scanned the clearing until his eyes rested on Alonzo; perched up on the tire, a questioning gaze met his. He listened intently to the silence that flooded the clearing, the only sounds he heard were from the early morning birds that chirped overhead. Munkustrap just raised his hand and returned inside to the wide eyed tux.

"No one's out there," he reassured before collapsing exhaustedly next to the small tom, hoping to get a few more hours of sleep in. Quaxo nodded unconvinced and laid back down to snuggled up securely against Munkustrap's back, ignoring the small, cave-like echo of his own voice crying for help.

Oo oO  
O  
Oo oO

The two toms were jolted awake to the sound of the Rum Tum Tugger barging into the den energetically. He was followed to the door by his usual fan club, who had received word of their friend's emergence from the den. They watched in amusement by the door as Tugger began to rouse the two sleepy toms eagerly, receiving a mouthful of pillow that Munkustrap had whipped at his face from his curled up position on the floor.

"C'mon, Munkus. Don't be like that now," Tugger quipped. "Besides, I'm here for Quaxo, not you." At the sound of his name; Quaxo turned onto his back and, propping himself on his elbows, gave the mane-less Maine coon an unimpressed yet slightly amused stare. It was far too early to be getting up for anyone, let alone the flirt.

"Here," Munkustrap pushed Quaxo forward. "Take him," he joked. Tugger smirked before reaching down to pull the tux into a standing position. Quaxo smiled politely as he took the gloved hand; being almost immediately pulled up off the ground and lowered onto his feet, with no effort on his part.

Quaxo turned back to see that the tabby had made no move to get up. "Aren't you coming?" he asked hesitantly. He had to admit that he depended a lot on Munkustrap since the incident, but he was the only one he trusted to be able to protect him from Macavity. If Macavity came for him while he was outside he could trust Tugger to hide him or help him escape but he didn't expect him to actually protect him, Tugger just wasn't that kind of tom.

The room was silent as Tugger and Quaxo waited for the tabby's reply. Munkustrap rolled over slowly before looking up at the unsure kitten. "Would you like me to?" he asked patiently. The young tom nodded vehemently. Munkustrap glanced at Tugger only to catch a glimpse of disappointment mixed with a tinge of hurt as he stared at a rotting dictionary by the door. Sensing his inquiries; Tugger looked up to meet his brother's stare, the tabby could see the honey eyes snapping closed with embarrassed emotions not meant for other's to read.

"Ok, lets go," he smiled enthusiastically as he reluctantly go to his feet. Quaxo smiled contentedly and Tugger readopted his eager and energetic attitude; leading them out the den and into the waiting sights of the eager Jellicles.

"Give him some space, kits!" Tugger's voice flowed coolly, Etcetera swooning over the God that is the Rum Tum Tugger. She was going to be his mate, you know. He was secretly waiting for the young kit to come of age so that he could make her his queen. At least, in her mind anyway.

Quaxo's optimism evaporated the moment the coon exited the den and his eyes met the eager faces of the Jellicles. Did they all know? What if they thought it was all his fault. What if they stared? He picked nervously at the dressing on his chest that Jenny had changed only hours before while he slept. He poked at the thought that Jenny could touch him in his sleep and he wouldn't be too bothered yet whenever he rolled into Munkustrap he would wake up in a cold sweat.

He shifted so that he was hidden from view. "I don't know if this is a good idea, Munk," he whispered nervously.

"It's a great idea, Heavyside knows you need the space and fresh air."

"Yes, but-"

"What's the hold up?" Tugger asked at the realization that no one was following him out. The two toms just shook their head dismissively; making their way to the exit. _This is what foxes must feel like_, Quaxo thought, _getting smoked out of their dens and their only escape being crowded by hounds ready to tear them to shreds._

With some encouragement and being dragged out the door (metaphorically), he was once again met with the bright, burning energy of the late autumn sun. When his eyes adjusted, he was met with the faces of the entire Jellicle clan. He shifted uneasily under the attention but was somewhat relieved to see kind, caring expressions as opposed to judgement stares, though the face could only tell so much.

Quaxo smiled shyly to the accepting crowd; they nodded happily as if to welcome him back into their clan, as if he'd been gone for a while now. To the tuxed tom, this experience was mortifying! Everyone here knew of his shame and they just stood there; eying his bandages and scrutinizing the matted fur he no longer had the heart to clean, it would never be clean anyways. Their respect for him gone and overtaken with pity. This is how he saw the as world now, this is how he was going to live out the rest of his life; a pitied tom who was defiled by his own father. _Ruined_.

Eventually, everyone got the hint and decided to give the tom some space. Suddenly, the silver tabby smacked his forehead heatedly.

"I have to go talk to Old Deuteronomy! I'll be back as soon as I can," he explained before running off towards the Jellicle leader's den. Feeling a little too exposed, Quaxo turned to Tugger expectantly.

"So what did you have planned exactly?" he asked curiously.

"Nothing really, I kinda thought you just needed the exercise. Wanna go chill with your friends?" Tugger leaned against the side of a cracked armoire and pointed to the kits rolling around in the clearing. The tux half-shrugged uncertainly, he didn't really know what to do with himself; anything that didn't have him standing there like an idiot should suffice. Tugger's brow furrowed in thought, the kittens would be too rough for him; although they usually went easy with the tux in respect for his naturally small and fragile disposition, he didn't think anything physically demanding would be a good idea.

"Wanna go to the pond?" he suggested. The tux nodded thoughtfully; a quiet, relaxing lounge by the pond sounded nice, as long as he didn't get wet. The coon smiled and together they walked past the kits towards the oddly clear waters of the pond. Quaxo couldn't help but steal a glance at the kittens, especially his best friend Tumble, sighing heavily for he knew that Tumble would probably never hang out with him again. Tumble was part of the in-crowd of kits; he would always choose his place among the circle over him, no matter how nice he knew the brown patched tom was.

The pond was just as they thought, completely deserted and serene. The picture of Eden in the fall itself; sprinkled with leaves from nearby maples and full of calm. They took their places on the dark, heated rocks beside the chilly pool. Both lavishing the warmth for a good five minutes in comfortable silence.

"What does it feel like?" Tugger asked in the thick silence, breaking the tux's light dozing. Quaxo tilted his head to glance at the coon who watched him from the corner of his eye as he lay flat on his back.

"Disgusting. Humiliating. Self-loathing. Like everyone's looking for that break in you, looking at the grime you can't wash off no matter how hard you try... I can't even bear cleaning myself anymore, it just makes me sick," he admitted quietly so that only the coon could hear if he was listening close enough, he didn't want to break the perfect balance of the picturesque haven. Tugger simply nodded in comprehension, what could he say to that!

"Tuggie!" Etcetera shrieked from the entrance of the cove. The two toms' looked towards the young kitten, seeing the chattering group that followed the now bouncing queen as she pranced to her beloved Tugger. They both sat up as she drew closer.

"Hey, kitten," Tugger greeted smoothly, the patched kitten blushing lightly.

"Whatcha doin'?" she asked; rocking on her heels as she swung her body back and forth in an attempt to release some of her pent up energy.

"I'm just sitting by the pond with Quaxo here-" he motioned to the area with his free paw; the other supporting his weight.

"Hey Misto! Could you show us some magic?" Electra called as she skipped over, followed by a calm Jemima who seemed to watch him with careful intent to make sure he didn't feel uncomfortable at her approach. His guess was that she had been the only one to take Jenny's 'be careful' instructions. He always liked her, she was probably the only kitten, aside from Tumblebrutus, who he could comfortably be around without fear of being glomped.

He soon realized that all the kittens plus Tugger were looking to him expectantly, Tugger seeming to be more 'if you feel up to it' whereas the kittens had their pouts out and in full swing with silent begging. He thought for a moment, he hadn't used his magic in a while. Oddly, he hasn't been feeling the usual pressure and unease he usually got from not using his magic after a couple days. I had been over a week since he last remembered doing anything-

"Pretty please..." Etcetera prompted, cutting him off. Surely a couple magic tricks couldn't harm, if anything it might serve him some good.

"Uh, sure," he agreed. The kittens broke out in excited chatter, indistinct requests for tricks being thrown haphazardly at him.

"Why..." Tugger's voice cut clearly through the muddle of noise, a skill he had acquired from practice with keeping the peace in his fan club. "...Don't we move away from the water," he suggested. Little bundles of fur nodded in agreement before they ran up the path to the clearing.

"That's... impressive," the tux noted. The coon chuckled lightly.

"I'll have to teach you one day," he laughed. Quaxo sent him a slightly confused glance. "It seems as though we share a fan club now, it would be a good idea to teach you how to survive in the clutches of the short attention spanned kittens," he laughed again. The younger tom's eyes widened, he was sharing a fan club with the Rum Tum Tugger and he didn't care? Amazing.

In the clearing, Quaxo started off with a couple illusions that really didn't require him to do anything 'magical'; it was a filler for the kittens. Nevertheless, they were impressed with the small pieces, even some of the older cats had decided to watch the show. He started to feel a bit normal; a small, generous feeling of familiarity filled the emptiness in the pit of his stomach.

Then it happened.

He had decided to actually make use of his magic, after all it was a magic performance, and had started with something he had been working on before. He had the kittens gather a bunch of loose, small items from the nearby junk piles and made a small, human-like statue. He placed his hands on it's shoulders and allowed the energy from his paws to flow into the dummy. His paws crackled and sparked unusually and the statuette hissed in response as the material began to burn. Something was off. Before he could catch it, before he had time to cut off his supply; he withdrew his searing paws from the puppet and watched as a bright stream of energy leapt from his fingertips into the young crowd.

He tried to neutralize it before it got out of hand but he couldn't reach it in time to stop it from striking one of the kittens. Faster than the wave of his obstinate blow, he was kneeling by the kitten's side; tending to the ugly mark on Electra's calf. Her cries of pain attracted the adults and a panicked crowd gathered around them. He pressed his paw on the burn; causing the young queen to wail, though she quieted quickly when the soothing flow from his once afflicting paws numbed the hot pain in her leg.

Jellylorum came in shrieking and shoved Mistoffelees to the side, she looked over the tortoise shell kitten and saw the ugly, oozing mark on the outside of her leg.

"What did you do!" She shrieked at the tom. Her panic and disorder quickly spread throughout the group, loud and sometimes angry chatter broke loose.

"It was an accident, I swear. Just let me fix it-" he tried, the aging queen would have it. No one would listen. The crowd quickly became too much to handle, he could feel a weight of panic set in his chest and spread like wild fire. He clambered to his feet and tried to push through the thick wall of cats, just slipping through their grasps. He was about to scream when a strong hand latched into his shoulder but was quickly cut off when he was spun around to face the Rum Tum Tugger.

"Are you OK? What happened?" Tugger had to yell over the white noise. His expression changed when he took in the tux's physical state. The dark, ebony fur was patched with sparkles, his white socks on his arm and one un-bandaged leg were streaked with thick black sparkling lines, and his tail remained unaffected by the recent use of magic. Mistoffelees stared at him with large, fear stricken eyes before he tore his shoulder from the coon's grasp and sprinted into the depths of the junkyard.

For a cat who had been bedridden for over a week, he could run very fast. Tugger realized his mistake in letting him off on his own and started to sprint after him, only to find his scent trail gone and an empty, silent path. He kicked a loose piece of sheet metal in terrified aggravation before dashing off to find Munkustrap. He's not going to be happy about this.

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**Gasp! What shall happen to our cutie patootie Misto? I'm not telling! HA! You're just going to have to wait xD**

**Aww, I actually really love the relationship between Quaxo and Munku :3 It's soo cute! And Tugger's a bit too mature but I love him too 33 I'm really proud of this chapter for some-odd reason, I can't wait for another shot of BIGness in the next chappy :]**

**Hmmmmmm, would this count as a cliff-hanger?**

**I also have a community going called "Under-reviewed CATS fics**"**. I would appreciate if you could send me some nominees or read and review some of the stories in there :) Just trying to spread the CATS love :3**

**Reviews are kick-a$$**!


	8. Sunset

**Omg! It's been almost a month since I updated anything! I'm sorry :( School is a witch and I need to get my English mark up from a %66 -_- That, to me, is a bit hypocritical on my part and I find it kinda funny at the same time. Macbeth SUCKS (no offence to MacB lovers)**

**Anywho, another big chapter :D yay!**

**Enjoy :)**

* * *

"You did _what!_" Munkustrap shrieked, he began to hyperventilate as the realization sunk in. "Tugger, he can't be alone-"

"I know that!" Tugger snapped, he wasn't new. "It doesn't take a genius to figure that out, Munkus."

The silver tabby paced agitatedly, running his claws through his headfur; now greying from the overload of stress. They looked to the sky above their father's den, the clouds streaked with a brilliant shade of orange.

"Tug, there's only two hours of sunlight left- Cat knows what will happen to him if we don't find him soon!" Munkustrap passed Tugger, striding nervously towards the clearing. Tugger nodded, Quaxo alone at night was enough to send the frail tux into a panic attack, even if he was indoors. The tabby chatted nervously as they walked, presenting search party plans and just making as much noise as possible so to avoid the silence that no one seemed to find solace in anymore. It wasn't all too often that he saw his brother flustered, but it always made him nervous to see him so unsure.

The two strode purposely into the humming centre, all Jellicles focused on either the tux's disappearance or the well being of the poor, unfortunate queen kitten that had been victim of a freak accident. Many gazes locked with his, unsure what was expected from them at such a time. Victoria sat worriedly at the entrance to her brother's den; her pain stricken face streaked with tears and guilty sniffles plagued her.

"I just don't know where he could have gone," the coon heard his brother sigh deeply.

"Would he have gone to one of our dens?" he offered, the Jellicle protector just shook his head.

"He probably thinks he's in trouble: he wouldn't go to there," he sighed as he rubbed a shaky paw over his face. "I just don't see him being too far, he doesn't like being alone much so I don't think he would leave the junkyard, not by himself anyways."

"Munkustrap." Their heads snapped up as Skimbleshanks walked over to the two toms, his features twisted with worry. "We should go out and find the kit," he suggested with a solemn, fatherly tone. They began to fire off a series of techniques and plans in order to track the tiny tux down. Tugger stood back, silently, going over anything Quaxo had ever confided to him; his likes and dislikes, his fears, any safe places or notable land mark he found interesting. Although the two had spoken often, Tugger just couldn't remember ever hearing any of these minor details; some of which he probably hadn't bothered to pay much attention to.

"How's Electra?" Tugger's head snapped up at the mentioning of the queen kit's name, he'd almost forgotten about her leg.

"She's fine, a bit rattled but he didn't seem to do much damage," Skimble sighed in relief and Munkustrap nodded happily. Victoria and Jemima silently crept over to the trio, making slight sniffling sounds when they spoke.

"Do you know where Misto is?" Victoria asked in worry. Tugger scowled slightly, thinking twice about giving the white queen a smart-ass remark.

"We should split up the tribe and search the junkyard," Munkustrap concluded as he dismissed the queens; turning to Skimble and Tugger.

It didn't take long to organize the 30-some-odd Jellicles into smaller groups, each being assigned a specific area of the junkyard. Tugger was stuck with Admetus, Plato and Victoria. _Great_, he thought bitterly; knowing full well that he would be able to cover more space if he had been on his own. Munkustrap had been paired with Demeter, Bombalurina and Asparagus. The tribe quickly spread out, all determined to find the scared tux. Tugger and Victoria started to brainstorm possible hideaways they would expect him to use; Tugger saw no use because he, as well as everyone else in the junkyard, knew that if the magician did not want to be found then the chances of finding him were slim to none.

They turned down one of the narrow veins that branched out from the main paths, pleading desperately for the young tom to return home. Tugger sighed as he looked up to the orange streaked sky; Quaxo loved the sunset.

* * *

_Tugger rolled his eyes internally at the young kitten bouncing energetically through his legs. He had a strong feeling that neither he nor Munkustrap would be getting much sleep with the Energizer kitten running around at top speed; well, only Munkustrap because he had a hot date with Bomba later and he wouldn't be up to crossing the junkyard in the middle of the night to his den. He hoped that Jenny's suggestion of walking the little kit to wear him out would have some truth to it._

_"...And then Tumble threw his stone at Etcetera! She was sooo upset..." The kitten rambled on aimlessly, jumping over the minuscule pieces of junk and dodging the more obnoxious obstacles; never missing a beat. How the kitten managed to stay so quiet in public amazed the coon as well as the silver tabby; only when he was among the two toms or his sister did he ever formulate more than a couple sentences, and that was in private._

_The older tom was drawn from his thoughts when the _tuxedoed_ kitten stopped mid sentence in front of him, head cocked to the left and eyes wide in admiration._ _The spotted tom almost didn't notice the change but the fact that the kit had blocked his path forced him to pay attention._

_"C'mon, keep it moving," Tugger encouraged; pushing the immobilized kitten forward until he was shrugged off._

_"Isn't that cool?" Quaxo asked dazedly._

_"Yes, I'm sure Tumble will get an earful from Jenny tonight, now can we go?" Tugger nudged again._

_"Not that. _That._" The coon followed his gaze, he seemed to be staring at the setting sky overhead. Splashes of fiery reds danced around soft swirls of orange, mixing the the blue of the late-day sky until it had blended into night._

_"It's great," the coon agreed flatly, grabbing the smaller tom's limp paw and towing the cat behind him. "Now let's go," he complained, sounding more of a kitten than the one he was looking after._

_"... I'm going to live outside," Quaxo stated suddenly. "I'm never going to have a den, I'm going to sleep outside under the sunset and the stars," he announced to the now intrigued adult._

_"Why would you do that?" the coon retorted, intentionally evoking what was going to be a long and elaborate explanation from the highly articulate youth._

_"I like the sunset," the tom kit answered simply. "It's way more interesting than the middle of the day: more colourful," he smiled broadly._

_Thoughtfully, Tugger looked between the warm hues in the west and the gold kissed, white face of the tiny cat. "Come here," he grinned, enthusiastically dragging the smaller form behind him who more than obliged the new adventure. He led him to a nearby junkpile and started to climb the tower with expertise._

_"Munkustrap said we're not supposed to-" Quaxo reprimanded but was caught by the scruff of his neck by a gloved paw and soon found himself being carried up the massive sky scraper between the coon's locked jaw. He squeezed his eyes shut when he caught a glimpse at how high they were from the cold junkyard floor._

_They soon reached the top where Quaxo was placed on the quilted ironing board that sat perched on top of the other discarded items. The tux was overcome with curiosity and slowly opened his eyes; smiling broadly at the breathtaking view in front of him._

_"It's nice," Tugger admitted honestly, sitting lazily beside the younger tom. The youth just stared at everything, taking in as much as he could before they had to return to their den for bed._

_"I'm going to have my den right here. Right on top of this junkpile, this is mine now," Quaxo smiled happily at himself, satisfied at having his a den and junkpile to call his very own._

_"Nice choice tux," Tugger nodded approvingly. "Now you need to learn not to listen to stripes all the time so you can actually climb up here," he laughed._ _Quaxo mulled over his words thoughtfully, his brow furrowing in deep thought. "I was just kidding, kit. You should listen to old straps; he's only looking out for the best, making sure you're safe."_

_"I know," he replied softly before breaking his small trance. Tugger stretched majestically before gingerly clamping down on the loose scruff and carrying him off down the side of Quaxo's tower._

* * *

Tugger stood and watched as the white queen searched old hiding places and any small hole the tom would be able to squeeze himself into. Admetus was chatting quietly with the rust-coloured cat. He spun on his heel sharply and took off in the opposite direction, hopefully going unnoticed by the others as she tore through the tiny barricades and shoving through any Jellicles who happened to be in his way.

It didn't take the coon long to find Quaxo's tower from memory, throwing himself to the small, worn path that he had taken before. He climbed as quickly as he could; he just knew that the tom would be hiding out there.

"Quaxo!" Tugger shrieked when he caught sight of the peaceful youth watching the sunset in silence. The Jellicle was standing at the end of the quilted iron board, arms hugging himself against the bitter wind and usually animated tail dangled motionless over the edge.

"Quax?" He approached the lithe tom cautiously, hoping to Cat that the tux would reply.

"The sun's setting earlier now; I was going to miss it," he stated to no one in particular.

"I was going to bring you up here earlier but I guess you beat me to it," the flirt chuckled nervously; the only reply was a hollow, vacant nod. Their ears both flickered at the distant sounds of the youth's name echoing throughout the yard. "You really had us all worried..." he trailed off when the slender frame that stood so boldly against the sadly setting sun started to tremble and shake.

"I'm sorry," the black tom choked, he twisted slightly to look at his best friend with bright, watery, icy-blue eyes. From this angle, Tugger could still see splotches of sparkles and black streak his coat.

"It's Ok, Tux," Tugger smiled comfortingly, offering his paw to his distressed friend. "C'mon, we'll go down and let everyone know we're alright-"

"I can't," he whispered softly.

"Sure you can, I'll be right there with you. No one's mad at you, we just wanna make sure you're Ok-"

"Well I'm not," he responded firmly, hugging himself even tighter now as he started to rock on the balls of his feet, a habit he never dropped as a kitten.

"Quaxo, please, come on. Let's go home," the coon's stomach knotted as he watched the other tom rock on the balls of his heels dangerously, not even watching the sunset anymore.

"It's too hard," he sobbed. "I have no friends, my magic is all screwed up, I'm always in pain, I'm being forced to leave from my home, my sister hates me-"

Tugger involuntarily took a step forward, panic began to set in; starting with his voice. "No one hates you-"

"You can see right through their little facades; they feel sorry for me. It's not love, it's sympathy." The last words were a bitter taste on his tongue, he hated to admit that his world now revolved around the charity of others and his social interactions on their discretion.

"So they feel bad, it doesn't really matter-"

"Of course it matters!" he yelled. How could he not see? "That's what I'm going to be from now on, the tom who was raped by his father? How far am I going to go with that following me my entire life? Not to mention trying to get a mate! I can't deal with that," his voice finished just above a whisper.

The coon's breathing started to quicken, how could this be happening! He gaped in horror as the last pieces of Quaxo's plan started to come together in his mind, he could only watch his friend play dangerously close to the ledge of the once hopeful structure."Quaxo... Please- I'm begging you!"

He smiled calmly and turned his gaze back to the setting sun, shaking his head as he exhaled greatly. "I'm sorry. I just can't," he whispered softly and with one last glance, he turned and took the final step to his doom.

"QUAX!" Tugger shrieked as the black figure fell from his perch with the setting sun.

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**Cliff Hanger! Yes!**

**I hope to be updating a lot sooner xP I can only do so much and get so distracted xD**

**Reviews are kick-a$$ !**


	9. A few seconds too late

**Awww, Sorry for leaving it this long :( I didn't plan on it I swear! It just happened :P**

**So! Who thinks Misty's going _splat_? That would be a very sad (pathetic?) ending on my part. No, there is more to come, I assure you.**

**Review happiness!:**

**Calanarie: Well, I admire your consistency xD I can't really tell you anything seeing as the answer is right here though ;)**

**Mistoffolees'girl89: Suuuuuup! Oh come on! It's only been just over two weeks! Lmao! Yes, he was cut short xP But unfortunately for all those M-preg fans this won't be one of those scenarios, I already have a plan for little Mistykins and Ii think I wouldn't be so in the grey if I continued with the storyline with a mini Misto/Maca baby. People tend to feel bad when babies are "abused" so I shouldn't. Thanks for the suggestion and the faith :)**

**NOW ONWARD HO!**  
**Enjoy ;) **

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His mind snapped when the tiny, tuxed kitten lurched; sending him falling off the three-story high junkpile. His mind went blank and his vision became a blinding shield of light. _How could this be happening? This isn't real, that's not little Quaxo... It's just a nightmare..._

_OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo_  
_Tugger stretched sleepily as he waited on the park bench; Quaxo and Munkustrap were going to meet him so that he could watch the kit for a few hours. He decided to get up and stretch his legs. He walked up to the rushing river that cut through the middle of the abandoned park, it was cold and uninteresting as usual. He walked back to his bench and decided to take a bit of a cat nap before the little kit got there. He hadn't reached a foot from his target when he could hear the soft pants of a little black kitten bouncing in the snow towards him._

_"Snow!" Tugger turned back in time to be taken out by a tiny, elated wrecking ball. Well, he wasn't taken out per sey; he was slightly knocked off balance but decided to indulge the kitten with the pride of knocking the coon over._

_Munkustrap walked over as Tugger and Quaxo were in a heated wrestling match in the cottony snow; Tugger had just thrown Quaxo face first into a snow bank where he quickly disappeared from sight. Loud laughing could be heard from the deflated pile._

_"He reminds me of someone," Munkustrap chuckled softly as he neared his younger brother._

_Tugger grinned up at the tabby, for once actually having to look up to meet his gaze. "Well, I was a pretty awesome kitten. Not saying that I'm any less now."_

_"I meant me; you hated snow." Tugger returned with an exasperated eye roll. "How you doing, Quax?" The silver tom peered over the lounging coon to watch the semi-collapsed snow bank._

_A loud burst of giggles rang out from the snow, small bells of silver in the festive park. "Help! I can't get out," he called out happily. Munkustrap, chuckling softly, stalked over to help the kit out. The moment the tiny tux caught a glimpse of his father's white flecked fur, he pounced out of the hole and made a weak attempt at trying to knock him over too._

_Munkustrap grabbed him by the scruff of the next and held him out at arms length, he turned to his brother with a wicked grin. "What do you think we should do with this little monster?" Quaxo gasped, he knew that the two would team up on him and execute some unusual form of punishment that they received when they were kittens._

_"I dunno, but we should get him good," Tugger smirked just as menacingly, all in good humour of course. They both wore serious expressions as they inspected him closely for the right punishment. Quaxo stared at the two with big, blue eyes; a trick Tugger had taught him to get out of sticky messes. He doubted that it worked, he had the same eyes before and they never got him out of trouble, and he was sure that this technique held no effect on the older toms._

_"He's pretty tough lookin', maybe we should soften him up first!" Before he could come up with a clever response, the tiny tux was assaulted with an ambush of extremely effective tickling. He laughed and screamed so hard that he struggled to breathe. Tugger placed his paw on his hips, gazing over the tip of his nose at the still giggling kit and the equally entertained tabby._

_"Brain freeze," he said simply. Quaxo looked between the two cautiously, both cats eying him mischievously._

_"I don't know, Tug," Munkustrap looked somewhat worried and hesitant. "What if father finds out?"_

_"Don't be a wuss, Stripes! Quaxo can handle it." Tugger marched over to where he could be seen by the dangling kitten._

_"You're in for it now, Quax!" Munkustrap shook the paw that was lightly gripping the kitten's scruff in mock fear for added emphasis. Quaxo began to feel really uneasy about their plan; he honestly didn't think that Munkustrap would put him through such torture. He wasn't sure what a brain freeze was but it didn't sound pleasant._

_Suddenly, Tugger walked up and lightly shoved a snowball in his face! The snow was soft and billowy, not what the other kittens played with where they were hard and packed tightly, but it was equally cold._

_"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Gotcha!" The two older toms rooted and cheered, laughing as he frantically smacked at his face to get the clumps of snow off his fur._

_"That wasn't cool, you guys!" As hard as the kitten tried, he just couldn't create the strong, disappointed tone that he'd seen the tabby use with the naughty kittens. He just burst out laughing at their silly game and wiped the snow from his whiskers. Munkustrap gently set him down on the snow covered bench, Tugger climbed up next to him._

_"I won't be too long, just going to speak with a couple of alley cats about those rabbid pollicles." Quaxo looked at the tom quizzically before remembering what he had told him earlier; Tugger was going to kittensit. Quaxo liked it when Tugger watched him because he would let him do nearly whatever he wanted. He stared at him expectantly for a few moments to see if he had anything planned for the two; he didn't._

_"I'm going to play!" Tugger yawned his agreement, he could squeeze in that nap while the kit was off making what those human kittens called snowmen. Little did Tugger know; the kitten was a lot more adventurous than he gave him credit for. Quaxo quickly got tired of making snowmen and decided to check out the area. A small bluebird landed on the pile of upturned snow in front of him, _what a silly bird_, thought the little kitten, _he probably didn't know I was such a vicious, bird-eating cat!

_He crouched as he'd seen so many adults do before and launched himself towards the bird. He missed when his mark decided to flutter off and landed belly first into the cold snow. They continued their little game of cat and mouse-er- bird until the sounds of the rivine came into range. He followed the bird until he was standing right on the edge of the bank, his plaything on a branch that hung over the waters from a tree that grew sideways from the steep slope of the bank._

_"Well that's not fair!" the tux complained before digging his tiny claws into the soggy trunk and started to climb the ominous tree._

_Tugger's nose twitched when a thick, fat snowflake landed on his nose. He rolled over on the bench to ease his way back into the lovely dream, a small chill making its way through his fur. He opened his eyes when he realized that the tux's shortfur would have made the small chill he'd caught a glimpse of into fullblown frostbite; and the coon didn't need to deal with the bother of having everyone yell at him for "neglecting" the little tom. _Speaking of which_, he thought suddenly. He looked over the small area that the kit had just been rolling around in but there was no sign of the never ending energy ball._

_"Quaxo," he called, no response. "Hey, Kitten!" Still nothing. His stomach clenched when the area remained quiet and unmoving. "Look, if you're playing a game it's all cool but I just need to know you're here-" a small but sharp crack interrupted him briefly followed by a small sploosh._

_"Tugger!" The river! The coon bolted down the slope that led to the steeper hills of the banks on the side of the river. Lo and behold, there was Quaxo clinging to the underside of a thin brach for dear life._

_"What are you doing!" the older tom immediately latched on to the stronger part of the tree and reached for the little kitten. He stretched out as far as he could until he felt the loose skin of his scruff._  
_OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo_

Tugger opened his eyes reluctantly; ready to hear the thud of the misery ridden tux as he hit the ground, ready for the worst. The heavy, shifting weight in his paw and his position at the edge of the ironing board told him that he'd lunged... and succeeded.

"Let me go!" Quaxo protested angrily as he kicked and squirmed in a shock of fury; dangling by his thinning scruff.

Tugger looked down at him, stunned. _I actually caught him?_ He didn't even remember jumping forward, maybe he had been closer than he thought. "No- No! I can't let you go." The backs of his eyes burned fiercely and threatened to blur his vision.

"Tugger!" Quaxo cried. "_Please_, just let me go." The bright blue irises of the begging tux was more than enough to force a sob from the older tom. A look of deep hurt washed over the lithe kitten when the coon started to drag him up the side of the cliff, he looked down in defeat. He had been so close.

The second the coon had dragged him a safe distance from the edge, he crushed the young tux to his chest. "You idiot! What the hell is wrong with you!" He sobbed openly with Quaxo; his tears drawn from the fear of almost losing the once life-loving kitten and the hurt of Quaxo wanting to take his own life. Quaxo, who had immediately started pounding the other tom's wide chest when he had been brutally dragged up the side of the pile, clutched the soft fur where Tugger's mane had once sat proudly as he melted into the loving contact; one of very few since the incident.

He sobbed heavily as all the pain and anger from the past month surged forth in his cracked state. The coon's fur was soon soaked; as was his shoulder from the bigger tom's own emotional outburst. There they sat in each other's arms, two sobbing toms sitting on a tower of discarded, unwanted objects.

"You can't do this, Quaxo. Think of all the cats you'd be hurting! Think of poor Munkus, your sister, me! We all love you so much, tux..." Tugger rambled, desperately trying to coax the small tom to not end his life.

"It's just so hard, Tug! I'm scared-" Quaxo breathed into the small space between their chests; he could feel both hearts beating madly in their fleshy cages.

Tugger shook his head fervently against his shoulder. "It's ok to be scared; you just have to face it head on and-"

A very faint but audible whisper cut him off softly. "I'm not that strong, Tugger,"

Tugger raised his head to look into the red rimmed, wide eyes of the blubbering tux, knowing full well that he didn't look any better. "You grow strong, Quax. No one's born with it." Quaxo nodded back, guilt started to set in; weighing heavily on his scabbing chest. They drew into another hug, this one more of a comforting gesture. The Maine coon started to rock gently with the tux leaning into his chest comfortably.

It didn't take all too long for the emotional strain to take its toll on the young tom and overwhelm him with intoxicating fatigue. Tugger soon felt his soft breathing rustling his fur and the instinctual snuggle into his warmth. The coon sat watching the bright oranges, pinks, and reds of the sunset saturate the sky in one last explosion before they would be flooded and swallowed up with the night's darkness.

Taking a deep breath, Tugger slowly picked up the tux to carry him down to the search party. Supporting his bottom and the back of his shoulders like a human mother would her kitten, he hoisted the tom so that his head rested comfortably on his shoulder and his legs dangled freely along the coon's sides. As if recognizing the position, the sleeping kitten raised his arms to wrap themselves loosely around his carrier's shoulders. Slowly, Tugger began to make his way down the junkpile, not wanting to disturb his sleeping charge.

He walked up one of the main paths until he came across Alonzo, Cassandra, and Jemima. They raced over excitedly at the sight of the safe tom in his arms. The coon raised his paw to his mouth to motion them to be quiet when they started to call out to him.

Alonzo was first of the three to reach him. "Where did you find him?" he whispered fervently, falling into step with the sombre coon.

"Where's Munkustrap?" Tugger evaded their questions alltogether, he needed to make sure that Munkus knew Quaxo was safe, relatively, before he pulled out his fur in worry.

"I might know where he is," Jemima chimed softly. "I could go get him if you like."

"Yes, thank you," Tugger gave her a thankful smiled before she ran off to find the Jellicle Protector.

It didn't take more than five minutes before the tabby came sprinting down a narrow path to their left, immediately rushing to his son's side.

"Quaxo! Where'd you find him?" Hesitantly, Tugger handed the sleeping tux over to the striped tabby who nuzzled the kit with tender care, overcome with relief and gratitude to the Everlasting Cat for keeping him safe.

Tugger rolled his shoulders nervously, suddenly becoming all too aware of the several Jellicles who had heard the exciting news and came to see the little tom for themselves. "I need to talk to you about something, it's kinda important." Munkustrap just looked at him soberly, smiling as he nodded. _Aw man_, the maine coon thought guiltily, _Why do I have to be the one to ruin his buzz!_

"Alright everyone!" Alonzo spoke out strongly for the occupied tabby. "Let's gather the others and head towards the clearing. It should be getting dark soon." Eagerly and satisfied with their results, the crowd migrated towards the heart of the junkyard. Tugger took one last glance at the ominous junkpile that stood against the darkening sky. _Imagine_, he thought to himself cautiously, _if I had been just a few seconds too late_. He shook himself free of the thought and turned to catch up with the rest of the group.

* * *

**Alright! I felt that a little snow-related memory would maybe get everyone in the spirit (Preferably on of the Christmas kind as opposed to the throwing a cat into the river kind) so ya!  
Also, In case there was any confusion, this isn't situated around the movie at all. And if you're all like "Quaxo's a bit too big to be carried around like that" I would understand. Just picture his size in the movie (played by a full grown actor) and take the smaller, adolescent version of that, which would also make him a very short teen :\ ... hopefully that helps with the whole size issue. I just found it really awkward for Munkustrap to be toddler toting someone a few inches shorter than himself xP**

**Review or I'll send tough little Quaxo after you! I swear I'll do it!**


	10. That Big Ugly Rope

**HELLO AGAIN! It's been ages since an update and I am truly sorry :( There are no excuses except for my thing for writing has died a bit (I am currently working on a new CATS story to try to get back in the mood. *What kind of story, Crazy?* Well! It might be angsty... just sayin) and have taken up video making! I have 3 so far and am quite pleased with 2.5 of them ;)**

**Anywho, just so you know, there are two parts to this chapter. It would have been too long and I'm not quite done the second part so I decided that enough was enough!**

**Review time!:**

**cjfreeman: No prob! Besides, there's not much to a Misto angst story without Misto ;) Especially in the 9th chapter!**

**FantabulousMe: -Rubs hands together- goooood, goood :] **

* * *

He stared down at the sleeping tux in his arms, _was it really over for him?_ Tugger sat across from them with a sombre and expectant stare, he gaged the tabby's reaction cautiously as he admitted the night's occurrences. Needless to say the tabby's wasn't all too happy.

"What am I going to do, Tug?" Munkustrap asked looking at the unusually quiet tom. His deep emerald eyes swam with oceans of misery, he hated not being able to save the tux. He was the Jellicle protector, it was his job to make sure everyone was safe! _Well look at the fantastic job I've been doing so far._

"I don't know, Munkustrap," the coon replied honestly, he suppressed the urge to comfort the other tom when his expression only grew more desperate. He looked down at the still sleeping tux, he seemed to be doing a lot of that: sleeping. He had been shifted to rest like a newborn kit in its mother's arms, though since he was bigger than a newborn kitten he sat half in Munkustrap's lap while his upper body was being cradled. It was sad to see the tux revert to old, kittenish tendencies that he had seemed to just get over."I guess the best thing we can do is keep an eye on him and make sure this doesn't happen again."

"But we were watching him when this all happened!" The tabby stopped himself quickly when the small tom stirred in his arms, falling back into a comfortable position and becoming silent. He carried on in a softer voice. "Not to mention you were right there when he jumped; he's obviously desperate."

The golden tom thought intently for a few seconds. "But I don't think he's going to try again," he offered thoughtfully as he remembered Quaxo's reaction to the whole incident at the time.

"But I don't want to take any chances," he snapped. Luck isn't something that stays with you, the incident on the junk pile was far too lucky and Quaxo's chances of being miraculously saved again is slim to none.

Tugger scowled at the sharp edge in his brother's voice. He could understand that he was a bit touchy; he was too for, in case anyone forgot, he was the one who had to pull the suicidal wreck up the pile. "Then what do you think we should do?"

"Well, we could have someone on constant watch-"

"Like we haven't been?" A pressing silence exploded between them, both trying to come up with a solution to the immediate crisis but none finding the answer they needed. "Wait. I have an idea..."

Oo oO  
O  
Oo oO

"Sooo, he wants us ta do whaa?" The calico queen kicked a bottle cap as she walked along, her brother walking beside her solemnly.

"He wants us teh watch Quaxo an see wha' happens," he replied with a bitter tone. "I think 'e can giv' us somethin betta teh do than some babysi'in!" The queen looked up from her petty game and stared quizzically at her brother.

"Is dis abou' those otha 'nappers Rohma an Seejayn gettin our heist?" He looked up to stare evenly at her, the agitation clear on his face quickly dissolved to a whimsical dream-like calm.

"Jus' think, Teazer! We coulda kept haf da loot and still make de boss 'appy!" He let his mind wander to the elaborately designed, ivory coloured house that they were so rudely denied by their employer; even if they were the best for the job. "But no! Dat little brat has to come in an make everythin complicated for us. An whas worse is dat we had been workin for Macavity since before 'e an Victoria was borned, an he still treats us like we's nothin!" He huffed angrily as he kicked a burnt notebook, sending a flurry of black flecks into the dead wind.

"Jealous?" she quipped, nudging his side playfully. His stare snapped viciously at her and causing her paw to recoil in hesitation.

"I aint jealous! I jus find it not fair tha' his dumb kit gets moar attention than we do. He don' even like 'em that much anyways so why's'it our problem?"

"Ey, if wha 'appened to him is wha moar attention gets us then count me out! I don need dat kinda drama," Rumpleteazer pointed out. She leaned against an old milk crate that still had a couple sour empties lying inside; Mungojerrie sat on a busted bean chair heavily across from her.

"Ya know... I think he was askin for it. Macavity don't like him dat much, an all that dancin around and flashy lights is just beggin to catch the big cat's attention!-" he became excited as his whole theory unfolded itself as he went on.

Rumpleteazer frowned at the thought; Quaxo had been a friend of hers since she first joined her brother's team. They played in the warehouse as young kittens; searching for new secret hideouts and scavenging for any leftover scraps of food or interesting objects some henchcats left lying around. "Jerrie, I thinks ya might be pushin it a bit?-"

Before she had been given time to finish, the loud screech of scrap and rusted metal pierced the air. They both looked to see a very guilty, and not to mention startled, cat who stared at them with wide, confused eyes. "Oh my!" Rumpleteazer whispered softly.

Oo oO  
O  
Oo oO

"I don't know, Munk..." Quaxo looked up from his nest of blankets at the sober tabby. "...I don't really like this." The two brothers exchanged glances, this wasn't a very good idea but it's the best they could come up with.

"Please try, Quaxo. We just want to make sure you'll be Okay." The small tux averted his eyes in shame, not that he was really making eye contact to begin with (it made most social interactions awkward for him and probably made the other cat feel obligated to try to empathize). He and Munkustrap had a discussion about the incident, it was very emotional for both of them but they had made amends which was a relief for the tux.

Tugger decided to fill the empty silence with a humourous, "Are we gonna get this show on the road or what?" Surprisingly making the whole situation a bit more normal. His throat pulled tight when the Maine coon had finished the knot around his waist with a tight pull, the brown rope trailing a few feet up to the bit in Munkustrap's hand.

"Aw, c'mon! I don't bite," the Tugger laughed as he made a small biting motion in the tux's direction, oddly not making him feel better.

"What if I have to use the bathroom? Or Tugger catches on fire and I have to get away?"

The flirt coughed uneasily and gave a light chuckle. "Morbid."

"I'm sure you and Tugger can work out bathroom arrangements, and I guess you would have more incentive to put him out if he was attached to you." Again, he waved the end of the rope towards the still skeptical kit. The tux gave a great sigh before he reluctantly unraveled his sky-blue nest.

When Munkustrap had finished tying the simple yet sturdy knot around Quaxo's waist he nodded in satisfaction. Quaxo looked between himself and the considerably taller coon and snorted distastefully."This looks ridiculous!" Tugger shook his head disbelievingly before stealing a glance at the two in the mirror; when the tux was right he was right.

"I know, but it's only for a short while. I just want to make sure you're safe," the tabby consoled warmly. A small smile crept onto the tux's face at the kind cat's thoughtfulness before examining the rope anew. "I would be just as safe if Tugger just_ stood_ by me-"

"But now you can't pull me around and get away," Tugger chimed from his place in front of the mirror. He frowned in effort as he tried to incorporate the plain rope with his silver belt; he smiled when the chord was hidden by the accessory but it quickly faded when Quaxo gave the binding string a hard tug, undoing the coon's efforts. He stuck his tongue out begrudgingly at the kitten who returned the offer with a cheeky smile.

* * *

**So! Is Misto going to try something with Tugger on his a$$ (Didn't stop him last time xD), Who interrupted Rumple and Mungo? WILL TUGGER CATCH FIRE! Tune in next time on *Young and the Restless theme song* Shattered.**

**Man, I should be a television announcer!**

**Reviews are golden!**


	11. Watch Your Back

WOOT FOR INSPIRATION! Thanks to all the people who faved and reviewed and everything! **HUGS FOR EVERYONE**!

Great news, I have just had a wave of an idea that might include some upcoming slash! :D Also, I have just half an hour ago found some new inspiration and am very excited about this burst of enthusiasm.

Review time!

Calanarie: Yo, watch it, man! Don't go after my main man! But yeah, I would have liked to see Tugger catch fire.

Teriyaki: Awww, thanks :D I'm blushing xD That was a great compliment, thank you :)

* * *

"So," Tugger yawned as he stretched his long arms above his head in the shade of the parasol that hung over the kitten's napping area beside the Gumbie cat's den. "What do you want to do first?" Quaxo shrugged. In all honesty, he didn't feel like doing anything at the moment; he had a few things he wanted to look into but he couldn't meditate with the loud, crowd drawing coon.

"Omigosh it's Tugger!" The two toms turned to face the shrieking kitten as she torpedoed across the clearing. Worried that she would be viciously clotheslined, Quaxo stepped in closer to the flirt but then quickly reconsidered when he realized that he had just placed himself in her target's range. Luckily for him, Etcetera skidded to a stop a few feet in front of the two when she saw the rope that connected them.

"What's that?" she spat quite rudely as she pointed to their bindings. A look passed between the two in question fleetingly, neither of them had actually thought to come up with an explanation suitable for the younger kittens.

"Well," Tugger began as he raked his brain for some sort of explanation. He looked to Quaxo for help but the young tom just shied away in embarrassment. "Umm... Well, Quaxo just needs some help doing things is all. Since his accident he's finding it hard t-"

Just then, Jemima and Electra came bounding around the corner of a miniature silo-esque structure. They called out to the group and dashed over to include themselves in the conversation. "What'cha doin?" Electra asked casually as she nuzzled her idol, she went to nuzzle his attach-ee but was curtly denied. She ignored the tom's unusually rude behaviour but couldn't help but point out the rope that now hung limply between them since Quaxo had moved in to avoid clipping any over excited kittens. "What's that?"

Jemima sat silently at his foot, the stealthy kitten who could have sat there for hours and not have the coon notice because his kitten-radar only scoped out the moving ones: the most dangerous.

"Well, as I was telling Etcetera, Misto needs some help doing things since his accident and I am just here to help him do whatever he needs to get done."

"Who needs help getting what done?" They all spun around to see Tumblebrutus and his younger brother Pouncival walk up to the fan club. Pouncival had asked the question and was now quite intrigued in what the others were talking about. Tumble, who was well aware of the circumstances of the magician's "accident",  
looked to Quaxo before shying away to tug at Electra's tail.

Tugger's face fell and a deep sense of irritation burned in the back of his mind; this wasn't really something he wanted to be discussing with the kittens right now, and he was sure that Quaxo wasn't appreciating the topic of conversation either. "Oh, Misto and I are BFFs now so we're doing everything together." Quaxo shot a fierce glare at the larger tom, last thing he needed now was to be a candidate on the kits' blacklists. they looked between the two curiously and then at the rope.

"But why would you guys tie yourselves together?" Jemima asked, still perched silently at the leopard spotted tom's feet.

Quaxo smirked and looked to Tugger smugly. "Yes, Tugger, why are we tied together?"

Tugger gave a small, dramatic sigh. "Because, kits," he took a pause to place his paw on the tux's shoulder. "Friends make sacrifices for each other," He drew the small tom into an almost crushing embrace for added dramatic effect. Quaxo's heart jumped as he moved to struggle but quickly realized who had grabbed him and calmed himself. "And I am sacrificing my single, non-roped self to teach Quaxo here how to be cool like me," he finished as he stroked the other tom's headfur in mock care.

Their expressions changed, some to grimaces of confusion, some disappointment, and others shared a look of complete idolization that had somehow increased over the coon's generosity. "Oh, Tugsie," Etcetera and Electra swooned. "That's soo nice of you!" They jumped up and gave the still embracing toms a huge bear hug. "You are so kind and thoughtful- I want to help others just like you," Etcetera beamed. Quaxo's eyes widened in shock, they were actually eating this garbage right out of Tugger's paw!

"Then go and help your friends. They need you," and With that the little queen kittens disappeared in a flash of over-enthused fur. Pouncival followed the queens as they began to search for deposits of rope to tie each other together with, nearly being knocked over when Etcetera had turned back to make sure he was coming. Tugger and Quaxo both stared after them with such bemusement that they hadn't even realized that Quaxo was still locked in Tugger's arms.

"Incredible." Quaxo breathed as he watched the last round the corner. "The kittens are thicker than I thought." The older tom snickered.

"Only with me," he winked. He gave the tux one last squeeze before they separated, the chord again grew taught as they both struggled for Independence. Tumble gave them a very solemn glare as Tugger let Quaxo straighten up his disheveled headfur.

"That's not why you two are tied together. Why are you really doing this?" Quaxo paused and returned to straightening up to avoid the brown and white tom kit's scrutinizing stare. Tugger casually moved towards the accusatory tom, careful gauging the slack of the rope to avoid disturbing his charge.

"I am just helping him out, that's all there is to it. Understand?" Tumble nodded

The two cats walked around for a few hours, travelling from one end of the junkyard to the other and back again. Conversations never lasted long but there was no need for talk amongst them, Quaxo was actually quite pleased and was soon able to calmly meditate. His first concern was why his magic had been acting up; guilt began to weigh heavily on his mind when he pictured Electra's pain ridden features, he would have to ask about her later. He returned to the task at hand. He hadn't heard from Mistoffelees in a while, though it wasn't uncommon for him to keep quiet when they got stressed out. He had assumed that the demon went into hiding, besides he was far too occupied to even notice.

He was drawn from his line of thought when Tugger tripped over a half buried electrical wire, sending them both crashing to the ground. Luckily, Quaxo's torso,  
a still extremely sensitive area, landed roughly on Tugger's stomach. Not the best of places, he had to admit, but certainly more convenient and cushioned than the ground. He hissed, his wounds protesting the impact with a sharp and hot pain.

"Well, isn't this fun," Tugger muttered sarcastically. They both chuckled softly as they lay on the ground for a few minutes, neither making a move to get up.

"I can't say that I've had this much fun since I sprained my paw trying to catch your damned wind-up mouse," Quaxo declared, both toms laughing harder at the memory.

Tugger continued laughing as he poked the tux's side. He tried to speak between bouts of laughter but his voice came out high and strained. "You believed me!"

"And that's the last time, I swear," Quaxo giggled, rubbing his paw and it's now ghosted pain. It still tingled before every rainfall.

"Yeah? How come?" The tux looked over in surprise to meet the somewhat hurt face of the maine coon. Was he serious?

The coon stared back in expectation. "Well, I- er... You tricked me!" When the almost concerned looking tom's mood didn't revert he tried to lighten the conversation. "You've stained my belief in the race of junkyard mice with your remote control rodent. I need to check every time I catch one!"

The coon's face still did not change, he simply looked to the side in thought. "I kinda felt bad about that. Kinda why I didn't do it again afterwards... and I figured it would be harder to trick you a second time," he winked playfully and the younger tom could feel the tension in his chest release, it was very disconcerting when someone as flamboyant as the Rum Tum Tugger became in the least bit serious.

Quaxo began to at the fur on his one un-gauzed arm, he felt the leopard spotted tom move beneath him but took no notice until his cool breath was fanning him softly. He looked up into Tugger's golden face that, unlike his snow white face, seemed to constantly glow in every light you put him in. His features were soft but still angular and solid, playing with the light on his face and unknowingly making his eyes seem to glow brighter than his skin.

Quaxo was incredibly jealous at how the coon could exert confidence in every situation, even if he just made a fool of himself while tied to a psychotic, suicidal kitten. He became suspicious and started to grow very uncomfortable when he rested face-to-face with him, trying to make eye contact but failing to persuade the other's gaze to meet his. "You know you can trust me, right?

"I can trust you," Quaxo smiled kindly. "Just not with my food." The two chuckled lightly. With only a fraction's momentum, Tugger leaned in slightly in a sudden impulse to catch the broken cat's lips with his own. Luckily, before the tux could even register the coon's intentions, Quaxo had retreated with an uncomfortable huff and squirmed into a seated position.

"What's up?" Tugger asked, hoping that his sudden loss of control had gone unnoticed. The other blushed slightly, picking at the rope with shallow claws.

He rolled his head in search for an answer. "I need to... _relieve_ myself," he muttered finally. Thick-headedness overcame him and the coon cocked his head in confusion. He received a heavy glare; the tux's shoulders hunched in exasperation, he would have to spell it out. "I need to go," he explained more sternly.  
Tugger quickly nodded in apprehension, shrugging it off.

"Just go, I don't care." The other tom's features grew hard and scornful, obviously a tom who was not impressed by the coon's apathy.

"I care," was the curt response. The corners of the coon's mouth twitched with slight discomfort at the expectation put on him. He didn't want to crowd the already shy tom but he didn't know if he trusted him enough to not run off and try something else. He just couldn't pull another miracle out of his ass.

He inhaled deeply before submitting to the tux's demands. "Alright, alright!" he sighed as he untied the younger tom's end of the rope. "Just don't tell Munkus, he'll get all anal about this-" he caught himself mid sentence but it had already jumped out of his mouth. "I-I didn't mean..."

Quaxo just shook his head, the expression on his face was tight and unreadable by the older tom. "Just untie me, please." Tugger just snapped his jaw shut and finished untying the knot. He followed the younger cat to an old broken fridge and watched as he silently disappeared behind it. "You have five minutes!"  
he called to his companion as he slumped against the once-white-but-now-oddly-green fridge.

He continued walking until he was sure that the coon was within earshot if he screamed but far enough away that he had privacy; something he was seriously lacking lately. He finished his business and began towards the old fridge; he figured the impatient tom would go looking for him. He was momentarily distracted when he heard the faint sounds of giggling contrasted with lower sounds of growling.

Curious, he crept towards the sounds of the two mysterious cats to find that they were none other than Mugojerrie and his partner in crime, Rumpleteazer.  
He was about to call out to the duo when he was cut off by a raging Mungojerrie. "Ya know... I think he was askin for it. Macavity don't like him dat much, an all that dancin around and flashy lights is just beggin to catch the big cat's attention!-"

The teen tux stopped in his tracks; he was asking for it? His mind mulled over the words slowly and precisely. He never realized that having fun with his friends would be seen as provocative: he never asked to get raped. Slowly creeping back, the heel of his foot lodged in some tangled plastic that sent him flying onto his arse, all the while kicking the wall concealing himself from the two bandits.

Their gazes snapped towards him instantaneously. Rumpleteazer sported a look of shock while her brother displayed the iconic hand-in-the-cookie-jar guilt stare, mouth slightly agape.

"Quax'O-" Rumple began, stepping forwards to help him to his feet. He disregarded her and focused his attention on the slightly older tom.

"You better not be spreading this around! What happened wasn't my fault!" his voice broke on the last word as his eyes started to brim with tears. Suddenly,  
the rushed sounds of a stumbling Tugger rung through the junkyard as the junk standing in his path clashed to the ground noisily. He jumped in between the striped queen and the still ground-bound tux, his end of the rope dangling behind him like a second tail.

"What the hell's going on here?" he demanded, obviously quite upset. He looked between the three and immediately registered Mungojerrie's guilty expression.

Quaxo sat up and placed his paw lightly on the flirt's knee. "Tugger, I-" he spluttered but couldn't finish his thought when the older tom's furious glare weighed him down, snuffing out any will to finish.

"And you!" he fumed. "I'll deal with you later." The tuxed tom looked away, he hated starting arguments with the Tugger because he would never have a chance of winning against the strong headed cat. He also didn't like being on bad terms with him because he was a very close friend, one of few that had stayed with him. He couldn't risk losing anyone else. He just kept his mouth shut.

"Dat's foine. Wes was just leavin," Mungojerrie piped in. He caught his sister by the wrist and began tugging her away from the two, stealing one last glance at them as Tugger knelt down to unwravel Quaxo from the plastic trap. "Oi, Quax... Wach yo back, maite." Then he was gone.

* * *

Yeah! Tugger didn't catch fire :/ But he did make a very inappropriate joke- well not a real joke but it was a Tugger moment gone wrong.

Awww, :( Babysitter Tugger is mad. Quaxo is in trouble! -ooooooooooh-

Reviews are gold :D


	12. Card Tricks

_Okk, So I had this huge rush of typage the other day and came up with half of this chapter, I feel SO accomplished right now ;) Eeeek, it was so fun writing all the cute slashiness- er... I mean... :P_

_EVERYONE NEEDS TO CHILL ON JERRIE! He's cool :P If anything, people need to be hatin on Tumble for being a tool... but don't do that 'cause he doesn't get much attention in the base and he'd come after me for starting stuff on him xP_

* * *

They walked in silence for about half an hour. Tugger was fuming as he stormed down the path, walking just a little too fast for the tux to keep out of a light jog. "Tug, stop," he panted as he planted his feet into the dirt, unfortunately not stopping him any. "Tugger..." he tried again but was still being quite rudely ignored. He ran up and rounded the ominous tom, putting his hand firm against his chest in hopes of getting his point across. "Stop!-"

Tugger turned to him sharply, his golden eyes burning with fiery passion. "Why'd you run off?" Quaxo froze in fear at the unusually fervid tone, he had never seen the usually blase and blithe tom so bothered. "Well, you wanted to talk; talk! Tell me why you ran off!" There was no response aside from the shocked and wide-eyed stare of the shorter tom. fervently, Tugger reached out and grabbed the tux by the shoulders; he shook him lightly as a new and demanding excitement took over him. "Were you off to slit your wrists or something? Hang yourself?... Answer me, damn it!"

The magician's mouth opened to respond but he was so caught off guard that only strained stuttering noises. "I-I didn't run, I- No." He shook his head slowly, not quite sure what to do now that he finally had the coon's attention. His golden eyes smouldered fiercely as they tried to find the answers in his own icy blues. "Stop, please? You're scaring me," his voice rested on a soft whisper, his eyes darting to the ground worriedly.

The leopard spotted tom sighed heavily, drawing the quiet tom into his arms. "Quax..." he groaned exasperatedly. Quaxo rested his head lightly on Tugger's broad chest, the short hairs of his speedily growing mane tickled his cheek lightly; he too sighed deeply. "I-I don't know what to think anymore," Tugger began, his voice returning to its soft and velvety smooth feel as the words flowed from his mouth. One could see why he was so effective with the queens, Quaxo just found it rather comforting to listen to and envied the deep and ranging vocals. He would always taunt the coon by saying that he was one of those sirens that came out of the fairy tales the humans read to their kittens; the ones with the beautiful voice that made everyone fall in love with them. It suited him very well: The Rum Tum Tugger, Siren of the junkyard.

"What am I supposed to do? What do you want me to say?..." He paused to take a few loud breaths. The tiny magician hugged himself tighter in the coon's embrace, flinching slightly when Tugger's gloved paw moved to stroke his back comfortingly. The surprise only lasted for a second before he melted into the contact. He hated how he used to like being touched; whether it be a friendly stroke from a human or a soft nuzzle from a friend, he loved it. Now, no one touched him except for Tugger, Munkustrap, and Jenny... Sometimes Jelly. He hated feeling so isolated: his sister didn't even want to look at him anymore, let alone lay a paw on him. "I don't-"

"I wasn't going to kill myself, Tug," he breathed as he slowly began to grow sleepy, too caught up in the feeling of a feather-light paw ghosting over his sensitive, scarred skin. The other froze, surprised. Tugger grabbed him again by the shoulders to pull him away so that he could make sure that he wasn't just telling him what he wanted to hear. Quaxo met his gaze for a few moments before they instinctively dropped to the ground again. "...You weren't going to...?"  
Quaxo shook his head 'no'. He hadn't stopped thinking about ending his life, he just felt more afraid of death since he had stared it in the face. Luckily that kept him far enough away from the edge that it felt safe to try to breathe again. Tugger smiled warmly, quite pleased that he no longer had to face the threat of losing his best friend to his own anguish. "Good," he said simply. They separated and started again down the path towards the clearing, more slowly this time.

Oo oO  
O  
Oo oO

"So, I'm staying here for the night? What happened to Jenny's den?" Tugger plopped the tux's beloved blanket onto the cushion-y mattress that served as his bed. He frowned grimly at the bed: there were only four good pillows left, he would have to sacrifice one of them to the tux if that blanket didn't come complete with its own. Sadly, it didn't.

"Ummm..." he looked around distractedly for anything that could stand in for a replacement, all he found were more blankets; they would have to do. "Munkus is going back to work tonight, giving Alonzo a break. Aaaaaaaaaaand the kittens are moving back into their den since Jenny said you didn't need to stick around to get your bandages changed," he explained. Oddly enough they didn't bother telling him about the new arrangement. He rolled up a small, fuzzy, orange blanket into a pillow-shaped lump. "You wanna pick a pillow?" he asked, nodding towards the four on the bed.

Quaxo eyed them from his position at the end of the large mattress, there were only four left. What happened to the other three he had no interest in knowing, he just knew that the coon liked to sleep with as many pillows as he could get a hold of. He also knew that whenever he was forced to lend or share one of his beloved pillows, he was often found in a sour mood the next day. "I'm fine, I don't really use them too often," he shrugged as he followed the coon across the den. Sure he was lying, but he knew how irritated the Tugger could get and he'd rather spend the night without a pillow than a day tied to a moody drama tom.

"Alright, suit yourself," the golden tom shrugged. The other smiled internally at his little facade but refused to show his bemusement for the sake of argument. He followed the coon around as he tried to tidy up the cozy, dark den. The things he found lying around were both intriguing and revolting. Moldy foods and various bottles of alcohol were taken from the two conjoined rooms and thrown out the back window that looked out to the lower part of the junkyard.

"So!" Tugger began as he turned from his disposal, giving a great sigh as he swept the room with one last scrutinizing glance. "What do you wanna do?" Quaxo bit his lip in thought, he wasn't sure what there was to do with the sun setting in an hour."Wanna to play cards?" he suggested when the tux gave no answer. He smiled broadly when the young tom's features cracked with a cheeky and knowing smirk.

"You're going to lose," he winked playfully. The coon smiled internally, his heart skipping a beat at the utterly beautiful smile. He couldn't help but think it was a shame that he didn't smile more often, it was a rather beautiful sight. He led his companion to the designated card table; famous among the more risky gamblers who dared face the flirt and his incredible card handling. They moved to the second room that would be the equivalent of a proper human lounge. Aside from the left over bottles of liquor and rat carcasses, the room was very inviting and cozy: perfect for hosting visitors and everyday living.

He pulled out the master's deck and motioned for his young friend to sit in the seat across from him. They shuffled awkwardly as they tried to manipulate the rope between them so that they could sit comfortably. The coon skillfully shuffled the deck and handed out the cards until a full game of poker had been ritualistically set up.

The Tugger took a fleeting glance up at the mirror that was set up cleverly on the ceiling above his opponent. Thinking twice, he decided to give the less experienced tom the upper hand and keep his eyes to his own deck.

A few decks flew by and the coon was finding himself at the losing end of their games. When he found most of his chips sitting at the opposite end of the table, he decided to take a little of his card fate into his own paws. His eyes slid stealthily to the mirror placed behind the young tux, spotting each individual card and planning out his attack.

Quaxo looked to the golden tom, cocking an eyebrow when he saw that his gaze was focused somewhere over his head. "What are you looking at...?" he followed the coon's gaze up over his head. Tugger's mind quickly reacted to the magician's inquisitive gaze; he stood to avert the tux's mind but ended up pulling the rope taught and sending Quaxo flying onto the table. He too tripped from the sudden jerk of the chord and the weight of the table along with the thrown tux.

"Holy crap!" He landed on the floor roughly, the table toppled at his side.

Quaxo groaned impatiently. "Why do we have to have this ridiculous rope on inside the den?" Tugger sat up and peeked over the lying table at the slim tom. "You OK?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," he replied as he rubbed his arm slightly. The coon replaced the table before moving to help his younger counterpart to his feet; Quaxo stood and stretched out his back. A mischievous grin crept across his lips when he spotted and pointed out the mirror placed behind his seat at the table, conveniently reflecting its vicinity.

"I-I just like looking at myself," he explained, fixing his headfur and making kissing faces at himself in the reflective surface above.

"Uh huh, sure," Quaxo chortled. He knelt down to pick up the cards strewn about on the plywood floor. "So, I guess you were letting me win the whole time?" he inquired.

"Well... Only the first two; then I was giving you a bit of a challenge." He joined the tux on the floor and gathered the poker chips. He groaned angrily when the chord grew taught once again and jerked the lithe tom to the ground next to him. Fed up, he reached over and untied the end attached to Quaxo's waist; tending to his side once the other had been set free. "This is complete bull! I'll be damned if I have to be tripping all over my own den for some stupid string!"

Quaxo's brow furrowed in thought for a moment. "Technically, I'm the one tripping everywhere-"

"Well, I'll be damned if you have to trip all over my den for some stupid rope, then," he corrected snootily. Once he had tossed the rope haphazardly onto a perfectly cat-sized replica of a sofa, he held the tux's paws in his. "Now, promise me that you won't run off." the other tom frowned bitterly, he didn't run off! And it wasn't like he was going to be leaving the comfort and safety of the den now that the sun had gone down.

He sighed before humouring the leopard spotted tom. "I won't leave-"

"Promise me you won't leave," he repeated with more authority. Honestly, it was hard to take him seriously when he demanded the respect that he assumed was owed to him. It was like treating a kitten like an adult when it was crying for its string. But, if it meant that he didn't have to be tied up to the impulsive and quick-paced coon, he would say anything he wanted to hear. "I promise that I won't leave." After a moment's thought, Tugger nodded in satisfaction before releasing the tom to finish his pick-up of the deck of cards; he himself returning to the scattered poker chips.

After the two had finished cleaning up, Tugger made Quaxo vow to never reveal the secret mirrors on the ceilings. Quaxo found it a surprise that no one had noticed a large mirror glaring over the contenders' shoulders over the years. Tugger smiled wryly but said no more. They soon found themselves lost in conversation and in a moment's notice the hours had flown by.

Tugger stood up tiredly; stretching out his tired muscles before declaring it time to turn in. Quaxo nodded in agreement, disappointed that the conversation had to be dropped on his topic of interest, but appreciative of the invitation to sleep. They both dragged themselves tiredly to the other room that had been blocked off from the other half of the den by a sheer, navy blue sheet. Tugger trudged up to the bed and lazily flopped himself face first into the soft mattress.

Quaxo looked around the room inquisitively. "Umm... Where do I sleep?" He asked before the coon could begin to fall asleep. He groggily lifted his head, scanning the room confusedly.

"I thought you were going to sleep in the bed." He shrugged before letting his head fall onto the pillow, his expectant gaze not leaving the tux. Quaxo thought it over for a minute before reluctantly crawling into bed beside the Tugger; enveloping himself in his big, billowy duvet before curling into much welcomed sleep.

"Good night, Quax," the coon yawned as he yanked the covers up to his chin.

"...Night, Tug," was the tux's murmured response. Their breaths soon grew deep and calmed as they fell silently into blissful sleep. In his sleep, Tugger's arms unconsciously clutched a large, forest coloured pillow and snuggled comfortably into the tux's sweet smelling blanket and back.

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_Awwww, happy Quaxo is happy... relatively? I feel bad for the guy with that damned rope. Every time something happens he's the one who has to deal with the bacl-lash... literally!_

_Typing rush is still on! And don't worry if you read my other fic; I will be updating that too.** Also, there is a new story that is currently being developed. Does anyone have any OCs they would like to donate for the sake of having their OC in a story? And (for survey purposes) who would actually be interested in a fic where there is an OC that plays a main character (next to Misto of course ;) ) Of course it's a baddy, does that change is any?**_


	13. Macavity returns

**Well, this has probably been the longest chapter I've written so far! 3,005 words within the little bar-thingies :P**

**Not much to say here so Enjoy!**

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"Come now, son." The tux looked up to meet the tabby's caring smile as he stood under the dark canopy that hung ominously over them; they were by Jenny's den. He smiled back at his pseudo father and was lead towards the other side of the clearing.

His stomach knotted when he was lead to the dark and cleverly hidden passage next to the old, rusty stove. He swallowed hard. "Where are we going, Munk?" The other kept walking, leaving the tux in the dark as he hesitated slightly. He smacked himself mentally before squeezing between two metal wedges that seemed to squeeze him in as he  
plunged into the narrow pass.

He stood up to catch up with the silver tom but he could not catch sight of the tabby anywhere. In fact, the whole area was dark and silent. It was so silent that only the soft hum of the blood starting to rush through his body with adrenaline could be heard in his ears. "Munk?" he croaked as he gingerly crept forward.

Suddenly, he was shoved brusquely from behind, landing on the cold, hard ground that sat completely saturated with a bitter, metallic liquid. "Dad!" he called out desperately; his voice broke and squeaked shamelessly as his mind teetered on the verge of hysteria. His mind was quickly put at ease when Munkustrap came running back into view, reaching out for him eagerly.

"Quaxo! Are you alright?" His question was met with the collision of the tiny tux's body with his; strong, wild arms clutched his silver fur madly.

"I'm scared, Munk, I want to go home!" Quaxo sobbed with relief and fear as he felt the darkness creep in on the two figures. "Please! Just take me home!" The figure in his arms stiffened and, after a moment, began to shake and heave. Looking at his face, Quaxo could see that he was laughing.

"Alright, son," he drawled his voice growing menacing and more frightening than imaginable. Quaxo felt the grip around his wait tighten and slowly begin to draw him down to the sticky ground. "I just have something that I need to tend to first." His sight grew hazy and blurry as he lay, shivering, on the dusty ground; the blood in which he laid bubbled up and clung to his skin, trying to drag him below the shallow surface.

Confused and now more terrified than ever, the young tux tried to prop himself on his elbows to get away from the personified liquid but was shoved back down. He stared up in shocked betrayal to find the hideous, scarlet face of Macavity staring back. Trying to fight him off, the tux began to kick and scratch viciously, his heart beating mad with so much terror and anger that he didn't think about his imminent death.

He inhaled to scream but was cut off at the sound of his own voice crying out beside him. A side glance had him staring wide eyed at an almost carbon copy of himself shrieking with laughter. This Quaxo was darker with missing white save for his chest and face; his voice was deeper and smooth as marble though his laugh came sharp as glass. The laugh was so hysterical that it didn't seem to be cheering on either party more than providing the missing scream that Quaxo failed to emit. The only characteristic that told his blank and numbed mind that this image was not him was the high, demonic tone it shrieked with every breath.

He felt himself being grabbed and shaken roughly, his world turning into a swirl of chaos and confusion. He tried to fight off his abuser but its grip only grew stronger and more demanding. He sobbed again at the sight of the ginger cat thrusting and groaning above him; this time, luckily for him, the pain was hollow and ghosted. His attention was diverted when he heard the slight whisper of his name that grew louder with every jolt of his already shaking body.

The scene in front of him shattered into a broken mosaic, a new wave of dark replaced the horrible image. This dark was blinding and was full of potential for a relapse. His vision slowly began to adjust but could not give him any consolace. The grip on the tops of his arms was strong and the incantation of his name was clear but more urgent than before. He stopped struggling for a moment to let the fog clear from his mind. The daze lifted to reveal the Rum Tum Tugger kneeling on the bed beside him, pinning him down to the soft mattress.

They both froze for a moment when the worried and pitied gaze of the coon met the wild and terror driven stare of the hysterical tux. Tugger lowered his face to where it rested mere inches from his own paled white face. "Quaxo...?" he whispered slightly out of breath. The young tom's reply was just short of a meltdown. Heavy sobs rocked the tiny frame and filled the room loudly with the sadness of his heart's betrayal and the shame of having the coon come to his rescue in such an embarrassing fashion.

Tugger was caught off guard, he wasn't sure how to respond to the delicate weakness in his grasp. Not thinking of any other option, he crushed the saddened tom against his broad chest, cradling him tightly and shushing him softly. It was at this time that he longed desperately for Munkustrap to be in his place, he didn't know how to handle crying queens, let alone the crying tom.

He began to rub the tux's back softly as he did the day before. His now un-gloved paws traced lightly over the moderate scarring on his companion's back. There was a bit of blood that seeped from the wounds but he decided to deal with those after; he made note to bandage them in the morning, oddly enough that the old Gumbie cat would leave gauze on his chest but not his back.

The coon bit his lip nervously, the tux wouldn't stop crying and he was beginning to get worried. He remembered how Quaxo had been scared of the dark as a kitten and Tugger, being fairly young himself, would always tease the little kitten about it. Maybe turning on a light would make the frightened tom feel better. It was worth a shot. "...Do you want me to turn on a light?" Quaxo shook his head in the safety and comfort of his warm and somewhat fluffy chest. They sat in the dark for what felt like hours."It's not the dark that scares me." The air between them decreasing in tension as the black and white tom came down from his bout of insane terror.

"What scares you, tux?"

"I- I think he's coming back for me" Quaxo managed after a few more minutes of choking back the remnants of larger sobs and trying to calm himself.

Tugger quickly reached down and firmly grabbed the tux's slim, angular chin; he shifted his grasp so that he could meet the tux's gaze head on. "No he's not. You need to stop thinking like this- it'll drive you nuts." His voice was firm but still kept its silky smooth flow from his mouth.

"Tugger, he's coming back," he stared at the coon evenly in the dark of the den. He found it much easier to make eye contact with someone who looked more like a dark blurr than an actual cat. His voice came out in a speedy mess, he knew that the second he tried to explain any further that the coon would dismiss him for being a loony nutcase with bad nightmares. "I'm not sure what he's after but there's something he wants..." His voice lowered to a harsh whisper. He quickly scanned the room before leaning in closely, breathing heavily. "I'm so scared!"

Tugger stared back, startled. He couldn't give him any words of consolation, he could only give him the false hope that Macavity wouldn't bother return to the junkyard; how many Jellicles would have to be crazy to believe such nonsense.

The coon frowned. "I think some sleep will do you good." With the young tom still in his grasp, he lay back down onto the mattress. Quaxo didn't object or refuse, he simply snuggled closer to the safety and comfort Tugger had to offer, his smooth voice playing like a record in his mind: Y_ou need to stop thinking like this_. He was right, he would drive himself mad with paranoia.

His eyes eventually started to sag under the weight of his exhaustion, he was soon lulled softly to sleep to the deep breathing sounds that emanated from the older tom. Tugger sighed softly at the sight of the finally sleeping tux, he himself falling back into a sound slumber.

Oo oO  
O  
Oo oO

"Macavity!" The two toms shot up from their embrace on the bed, Quaxo falling off the in the process. Tugger clambered off the end of the bed and bolted to the open window. He closed it sharply before swiftly darting back to meet the whimpering tux in the corner of his room, clutching the edge of his blanket over his head. Grabbing the rest of the cover that clung to the edge of the bed, Tugger sat down on the floor beside the shaking tux.

He knelt close to the small lump on the floor before pulling the duvet over his head, he met the dark form under the little tent with open arms. Quaxo scooted closer to the coon, not saying any more than the strained, quieted whimpers of fear. He wrapped his arms gingerly around the tux's heaving shoulders and the leopard spotted tom could feel the tears leaking onto his shoulder.

Inhaling deeply, Tugger nuzzled the small, black head. Without thinking, he turned out of the nuzzle to lean down and softly kiss the top of Quaxo's head. The younger tom immediately stiffened and swallowed hard, unsure of how to react. When his gentle lips didn't retract from the rough, greasy fur; the tux shoved the larger tom back and he pulled the blanket off the two to wrap around himself completely.

"Quax... I-I-" Tugger stammered uncontrollably. He tried to reach out for his friend but was swatted away brusquely. "Don't touch me!" the tux snapped, his eyes wide like saucers and his voice dripping with fear. He crawled back until his back met the adjacent wall of the den, he wedged himself between the nightstand and the wall so that he sat facing the coon on a diagonal.

The flirt grew panicked at the realization of his mistake; he needed to fix this, and fast! "I didn't mean anything by it, I swear!" Once again he tried to reach out to his friend but this time was met evenly with an angry hiss.

"You! You just!- Just sit there, don't move." Hurt, Tugger eased from his reach and sat back to slump on the wall. His gaze went soft. He sat up straight before slouching forward to rest with his elbow on his knee, his head in hand.

Quaxo stared sharply from his hiding place in his light, blue nest. He shook visibly when loud crashing and screeching came from the outside world. The coon watched sadly as the tux snapped his eyes shut and buried himself in his safety cover, wishing that he hadn't messed up so bad when the soft crying grew louder as the noises increased.

After what seemed like hours, Tugger could hear the heavy, deep breathing coming from the little corner next to the nightstand. A soft but distinct and authoritative knock came from the door to his den.

He stood from his seat on the floor, crossed the threshold into the other room and peeked through a well hidden hole that looked over his front stoop. He could see the worried and exhausted figure of his older brother standing eagerly at the door. He opened the plywood barrier and welcomed the tired tabby in.

"How are you two? Is Quaxo alright? Where is he?" Scouring the den, Munkustrap moved to the second room without prompt from Tugger. The tabby pushed aside the silky curtain, stopping when he saw the little mound of blanket on the floor. His features melted sadly, the exhaustion seeping through his brave shell and making him look years ahead of his time.

Tugger leaned against the doorjamb between the two spaces, he watched as his older brother gently scooped the lithe tom into his arms and lay him on the mattress; all without disturbing the sleeping cat. "Why don't we do anything about this? Are we just gonna let Mac get away with all this shit?" Munkustrap turned from tucking in his adoptive son and motioned Tugger out of the room before following.

"What do you expect me to do, Tug? You want me to just go after him?-"

"Well do something about it! He rapes his kid and there's no consequence? That's complete bull!" He pulled out a small bottle of whiskey from a small structure that looked to be a somewhat failed version of a mini bar. He took a swig, wincing only slightly since it had been the first sip, and offered some to Munkustrap as he motioned him to take a seat. The tabby took both offers; he coughed slightly at the oddly flavoured whiskey and slouched into one of the comfortable seats that sat facing each other. "This cat shouldn't even be living right now, that's what I was hoping you would be taking care of; Quaxo's your kid,"

"Tug," he began, taking another swig of the bitter drink before allowing himself to continue. "There is nothing more I want right now than to be kicking his dead body across the junkyard, but I can't risk it. I'm not going to go find him and start something I might not be able to finish," he explained as he rested his head on the back of the chair, taking another swig before Tugger snatched it again.

The coon inspected the level of whiskey left in its flask, swishing it around a bit before downing the rest of the liquor. "Well, you're not going to be alone. I'm sure most, if not all, the toms would be more than happy to see that bastard dead." Tugger shrugged as he hopped off his seat to dig out another bottle from wherever he stashed them last

Munkusrap shook his head. "You don't understand, Tug! I can't go provoking Macavity without signing our death sentence, the minute we go after him it's only going to backfire on the Jellicles."

"So we're just going to sit back and wait for him to go after another innocent cat?" He awaited a response but the tabby remained silent as he stared blankly at the small area rug the Tugger had used to cover the huge burn mark they had made when he first moved in. He still couldn't remember how it had gotten there, they were both drunk out of their minds. Tugger leaned in solemnly "Munk, Quaxo was lucky that you happened to find him. Macavity could have been planning on killing him once he was done, who's to say the next cat will be so lucky?"

The silver tom sighed heavily, sliding his head into his paws dejectedly. "I don't know what I'm going to do, Tug. I'm trying to do the best I can but it's nothing if everyone has to pay for it." Tugger frowned, he decided not to push the conversation further. Forgetting his plan to crack open another bottle, he placed a consoling paw on his brother's shoulder. "...Why does he hate us so much?"

"You need to get some sleep before you end up on my floor again," Tugger teased mildly. Munkustrap chuckled at the old memories he and his brother shared together, sad that they all seemed to end once he became Jellicle Protector. He stood up to leave but was lead to the other room where Quaxo slept. He didn't bother arguing, seeing that there was no use and he was far too tired to bother putting up a fight; he just followed Tugger's guiding paw to the bed.

"I'm gonna bunk out in the other room, you get some rest and we'll talk in the morning." With that, Tugger grabbed a bright orange pillow and a dark coloured blanket from the pile beside the door before leaving the two to rest.

"Thanks, Tug," the tabby called out as he gently lowered himself onto the heavenly mattress. The room fell quiet after the sounds of Tugger settling down died away. Munkustrap couldn't sleep despite his exhaustion; it seemed that no matter what he did he always turned out on the raw end of things. Nothing seemed to be going right lately and it was driving him insane.

Sighing deeply, he turned onto his side to face the relaxed, white face of his sleeping son. Many years he had watched him as a kitten and never had he felt like he had let the tiny tux down than he did now. Tears rolled down his cheek onto the borrowed pillow, he was scared. What he didn't bother telling Tugger was that Macavity was on a mission: he wanted to reclaim the small magician. Munkustrap was scared and an internal wreck; Macavity would do whatever it took to get what he wanted, he wouldn't hesitate a fraction of a second to kill the entire tribe if he saw it was the only way. Of course he wouldn't allow that to happen.

Finding comfort in the peaceful body in front of him, he pulled the carefully wrapped tom into his arms glad he had someone to hold onto. Despite the love and support of his friends and family, he had never felt so alone and terrified for the future.

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Woooo! Another chapter in under 6 months! -Victory Dance!-

Awww, poor everyone :( Quaxo's all "Everyone's out to get me" and Tugger's all "Why won't he let me kiss him?" and then Munku's all "What the hell?" tee hee :P

NEWS! I am currently in the process of switching my main shipping couple for CATS :P I just recently discovered (although I had obviously been madly in like with the idea) that I reaaaally like Munku/Misto :P It might seem weird in this fic because they're like... father and son and whatnot ;) But I am feeling the need to write a story about these two once I finish both Shattered and Sabotage :) I will be writing a very smexy and slashy fic to see if anyone would be interested in reading :D Of course the story I had in mind would be different than this one (different pairing get different circumstances) but I'm just putting it out there to see how many people would be interested in reading!

Again, I am also writing another Misto fic and am looking for maybe a couple OC volunteers. **I will NOT be responsible for accidental or predetermined death** Let me know if you are interested. It will be dark and angsty, I warn you ;)

Well, I am rambling too much! Let me know what you think!


	14. Facing Death and Hell

**OH DAMN! This chapter literally took me a few hours to write! I was so concentrated and determined and extremely motivated! Can't wait to hear what you think! There will be some coarse language that includes the use of the F word by a minor :P I love how, of all characters, he's the one to drop the worst curse. Tugger was in the lead with 'shit' but Quax has him beat now... Tugger better start smartening-down! USE YOUR WORDS, TUG!**

**2ScarletRibbon: That's great! I kept hearing about it when I was young but never actually watched it until about a year ago :) Sweet! I'm honoured to be your first fic! Hey, no one's judging you for the angst, it's way more interesting than romance in my opinion ;)**

**ZeeAwesomeSauceIsAwesome: Welcome to the fanbase! Sick, they rock legwarmers ;) I find that cool because my youtube name is imagination_roxmysox_ and it reminded me of that funnily enough :3 I'm not trying to advertise myself! I'm just sayin.**

**ENJOY! I know I did :P**

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Quaxo's mind hummed with the remnants of a headache as sunlight filtered through his eyelids. He inhaled deeply while he stretched himself out, realizing now that he was lying down on Tugger's bed, and there was a heavy arm draped around his midsection. His eyes snapped open, the sun immediately taking the opportunity to burn his dried and still swollen eyes. It took a few moments for them to adjust and focus in on the sleeping figure in front of him. As if pulled from his very nightmare, there lay the quiet and benign looking Munkustrap. But Quaxo knew.

He let out a terrified scream as he retreated to the edge of the bed, where was Tugger? Despite their little altercation the night before, he still looked to the coon for protection now that the one person he could truly trust had been corrupted. Once again, he tumbled off the bed, just barely avoiding hitting his head off the night stand. The tabby sat up with a start at the loud yelp, quickly gathering his bearings when the terrified tux dropped off the side of bed.

"Are you OK?" he crawled to the tux's side to help him back up. He was put off when the tux continued to scream, calling out for Tugger and no longer for the tabby. He lowered himself to the ground and slowly approached the terrified tom on his hands and knees; Quaxo enveloped himself in his blanket and continued to scream for the coon's rescue.

Tugger stormed into the room; his short mane was a mess, his headfur disheveled, and his eyes were droopy. His gaze darted madly between the two, confusion evident in his still foggy mind. Munkustrap shrugged, equally confused.

The maine coon walked over to the concealed tom, rubbing his back comfortingly. He shot a glance at the silver tabby in hopes of getting some sort of ground on what had happened, the tabby gave a somewhat fearful look: he knew nothing. He gently pulled off the thick, poofy duvet to reveal the tom's face. "Quax, what's wrong?" The young tom's eyes snapped open wildly, darting around the room until they rested on Munkustrap.

"Just stay the hell away from me!" he yelled at the tabby, his expression was crazed and dazzled at the same time; making him look extremely dangerous.

Munkustrap shifted in his position until he sat in a kneeling squat in front of the tux. "Why-?"

"Don't you fuck with me!" He screamed again, getting even more frantic than before. Tugger saw the flash of hurt and confusion flicker across his face, seeping quickly under his dutiful shell but the remaining residue was easy to read for those who knew him well. Tugger decided that this was this had gone on long enough when the tux had taken shelter behind him and was glaring accusingly at his older brother.

"I'm going to take him out for a bit. We'll get this settled, Munk," he whispered comfortingly as he gave the silver tom a strong pat on the shoulder. He straightened up and watched silently as his younger brother led the tiny tux out of his room, looking back once to give him a reassuring smile. He could feel the tears sting the backs of his eyes, his son didn't even trust him now; how could he let his relationship with the young cat fall through the cracks? Had he really been neglecting him so much? He gave a huge sigh before plopping down on the coon's bed; laying down on his back and trying to push the thought of his brother being the new Munkustrap. The one cat who hadn't bothered raising the kitten at all was now the center of his paternal affection.

Tugger tied the knot quickly around their waists before leading the younger tom quickly out of his den; his one paw gripped Quaxo's upper arm tightly. He ignored the protests of pain as he practically dragged him down the dirt path.

"What the hell was that?" he fumed as he released his grip to face the magician.

"How could you not see, Tugger? He's been fooling you- He's been fooling all of us!" Quaxo was infuriated, how could he not see what was right in front of him this entire time? Could he not tell the difference between Munkustrap and Macavity? It was shaping out to look like one of those bad movies where the one character is putting up a pose for the whole world but is really a monster that only reveals itself to its victim. "You think it was a coincidence he came over right after Macavity charged the junkyard? Why did he stay there last night, Tugger? It was his plan! He's waiting for you to leave! He wants you out of the picture!-"

"Quaxo, you dolt!" Tugger screamed. "He was there because he was checking up on you! He was worried-"

"I'm _sure_ he was worried!-"

"Shut up! I invited him in, I was the one who suggested he stayed the night. What, you think now that everyone's out to get you? Open your eyes! He's your _father_ for Cat's sake!"

Quaxo paused his retaliation, the corners of his mouth pulled down a fraction and his ears drooped. For those who knew him and the subtle but telltale signs of his inner turmoils knew this was a sign of sadness or extreme thought. "He is my father," he said finally. "Which is exactly why I hate him."

Tugger froze. He hated him? He was so confused, it wasn't a week ago that he wouldn't let the tabby out of his sight- hell, he couldn't sleep without him there to protect him! He just couldn't wrap his head around the tuxed tom's new and extremely out of character behaviour. It angered him to no extent how he stood there talking about how he now hated the tabby; the one cat who took him in when there was nowhere else to go; the one cat who, despite his overcrowded schedule, took the time to teach him how to clean himself properly and hunt his own food; the one cat who always went out of his way to make sure he was safe and warm at the end of the day.

"You..." He muttered through a clench jaw, he had nothing else to say to the tom. He wouldn't stand there and listen to his brother being hated on, it wasn't right. He began towards the clearing where most, if not all, the Jellicles sat around and socialized. Quaxo followed silently, he never wanted to hurt Tugger, if anything he was trying to protect him! He hated it when the coon was angry with him, yesterday's misunderstanding didn't help ease the tension between them any.

Victoria, the tux's sister who magically disappeared for the past few weeks, wandered over. She offered the two toms a smile and turned to shyly begin conversation with her once shut-out brother.

"Hey, Quaxo. How've you been?" she began sweetly. Tugger took the opportunity to dump his burden on the queen, he wanted to make sure that Munkustrap wasn't too put off. "Here," he interrupted before the conversation continued. "You chill out with your sister for a bit. I've got things to do." He hastily untied his knot and stomped off towards his den. Etcetera, who had ran over to glomp the maine coon, whined sadly when she caught a glimpse of his dark fur disappearing into the surrounding junk. Electra and Jemima both whispered energetically before playfully pushing her over and running off in the opposite direction.

"So how are you?" Victoria prompted the distracted tux who stood surveying the area where the coon had disappeared.

"Oh, I'm doing better," he said vacantly before he returned his gaze to her snowy face, a female version of his own. He had to admit that it was harder to talk to her now, it was hard when someone who you were once close to simply ran off the second you were left vulnerable. He had been waiting for her to visit but never spoke to her outside that one occaision when Bustopher had come to take him away; speaking of which, he hadn't heard from in a while. Apparently he had popped in a few times but he guessed that no one wanted to risk him being taken again... or he was sleeping when he came about: that was more likely.

She suddenly surged forth to wrap the small tom in a tight hug. "That's good," came her reply, muffled slightly by the fur on his shoulder. After a moment she released him, a wide smile plastered on her face. Quaxo's eyes narrowed. She giggled giddily as she took his paw and led him to the northern path behind the tire. "C'mon, I have something I want to show you." Feeling his kittenish tendencies creeping up on him, he immediately matched her pace as they stealthily trotted out of sight.

She took them to their old hideout, his smile faded. It had been forever since they had been there, now they had grown up and were living lives far too busy and had friends that always kept them going; there was little or no time for them to get together anymore. The entrance to the hideout, a backless microwave that had a broken locking mechanism, was dusty and rusted from the years of facing the elements.

The snow white queen began climbing the pile and soon he found that he was following after her. The door was sticky from being left for so long but they managed to open it between them. They slid inside to find the secret room just as they had left it. There were stuffed animals she had collected and strange human artifacts that he had gathered, all stored and preserved for their return.

They both took their regular places at their favourite spots, Victoria sitting on a slightly deflated beanbag chair and Quaxo on the replication of a window sill that had a tiny plastic window to overlook a small area of junk.

"So, what's up with Tugger?" she asked after a few minutes of heavy silence. Quaxo shrugged slightly, unsure of whether he wanted to tell her what had happened or not. "...Nothing," he finally answered. The queen's delicate, dark eyebrows furrowed.

"Is it really nothing or do you just not want to tell me?" she inquired. Quaxo hated their relationship sometimes, there were no secrets and whenever there was; they were impossible to keep. "I don't want to tell you," he replied flatly. In hindsight, he was acting like a tyrant. His impostor father had whatever treatment he had to dish out. Deep down inside, he was terrified; it wasn't until now, in the safety of their secret oasis, he truly felt scared for his life. He began to think about Tugger- why hadn't he stopped him from returning to the mystery cat?

Tears welled in his eyes at the memory of Tugger storming off to his den. He was going to die and it was all his fault! He was so scared and angry that he didn't think to stop him. Now Macavity was loose in the junkyard disguised as Munkustrap and there was nothing he could do to stop him! He was so weak...

"Quaxo? What's wrong?" Victoria asked when the heaving silhouette began to softly cry. She jumped up and ran to his side, softly rubbing his back in comfort. "...Please speak to me." Quaxo took in a raggedy breath. "I did something really bad, Vicky," he croaked. Her head tilted in curiosity. "Dad's here! He's here and I did nothing to stop him! I didn't warn anyone, I didn't- Everyone's going to die!" he shrieked, dragging his paws down his face in utter misery.

Victoria stiffened, her comforting paw dropped from his back in her shock of his revelation. "You didn't tell anyone?... No one knows?" her voice rested just above a whisper. Her brother just shook his head. "Who am I going to tell, Vick? No one here'll believe me! You're the only one who understands- you're the only one left who doesn't think I'm crazy!" His eyes grew wild, no words to describe his terror and anxiety. He clamped down on his paw, gnawing it softly in a vain attempt to relieve some stress. He looked back to the window, he could see Macavity stalking the junkyard now.

Victoria again began to rub his back in soft circles. Quaxo perked up, her paw felt cold and rough: the scent behind him changed from the sweet aroma of fall to the nostril burning scent of smoke and tar. He snapped around to meet the evil grin of the infamous Napoleon of Crime himself. "Miss me?" His voice was distorted, higher in pitch but more menacing than before; if it were possible.

Quaxo froze in fear, _this is just an illusion, this is just an illusion!_ Unfortunately for him, it wasn't. Large, scraggly hands swooped up the dark fur of his back, over his sodden bandages, and slowly made its way to his chin, cupping it roughly. The tux froze, there was no possible way for him to react or move at any rate. Macavity laughed; the same demonic laugh that he heard echo in the pit of his very nightmare.

"M... Mistoffelees?" Quaxo gaped; the voice, the glowing sheen in his eyes... it was all the same features he saw in himself when the demon was set off. The other tom grinned evilly. It was his grin... It was Mistoffelees's.

Before he could regain his thoughts he was lifted by the hold on his chin and tossed across the room. He quickly propped himself up on his elbows and watched in unadulterated terror as his father approached with terror evoking speed; slow enough that the tux's terror would have time to build to an incredible level but fast enough to avoid giving him the opportunity to fight back or run away... Not that he could.

Flipping onto his back, Quaxo tried to push himself as far from the ginger tom as possible, using his elbows and heels to propel him backwards. He screamed frantically for help; but he knew that, this time, there would be no help. Munkustrap wouldn't come for him. The thought of the silver tabby struck his heart for a fleeting second at the realization that he was wrong. The twinge in his heart lasted only a moment when his upper back collided with the den's wall.

Macavity reached down and, clutching his chest fur, lifted him until he hovered face-to-face. The tiny tom cried out sharply when the wounds on his chest reopened and burned madly at the brute tension used on them to hold the figure up. Macavity's lips slid back to reveal his unattended, sharp fangs. Quaxo looked away from the terrifying cavity, only able to avert his eyes when his head was held still. Macavity leaned forward hungrily to lock his lips with the small tux, inhaling deeply while he began to pull away.

As he moved back, Quaxo could feel the breath continuously being drawn from his lungs. He opened his eyes to see a misty, white smoke draw from his mouth into the mystery cat's. It took him a few moments and the incredible shift inside his body to realize what he was doing to him: Macavity was not only absorbing his magic, but he was absorbing him entirely!

The tux tried to cut off the flow, feeling his lungs begin to collapse in upon themselves and his body shut down as the life was being sucked from his very core. He writhed with the remaining seconds of his life, fighting as hard as he could to save himself from the hell that would be coexisting inside of his father.

Suddenly, Macavity released him and began to hack and wheeze loudly. Quaxo, numb, fell to the ground limply. His eyes flickered throughout the den; he wasn't dead... yet. After a few minutes, Macavity regained his composure and returned to the small tuxedo tom, leaning down so that his face was mere centimeters from his face. "Let's go show the others," he growled monstrously. Quaxo finally inhaled before the world around him turned black; his mind screaming as it sat in limbo between his own body and Macavity's

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**Oh noes! What's going to happen to poor Mistykins!**

**Okay, I must admit that this time I really felt bad for Munkie :( Poor guy tried his best and now all this is going down! :(**

_*****I'm still looking for OC volunteers for the next fic! Hurry because this offer will not last forever! I am writing the story as we speak (evenly though we aren't speaking as much as you are reading :P)****_

__**Reviews are AWESOME! Please, my social life isn't accommodating enough -puppy eyes-**


	15. Perfect

Hey! Me again, I worked nearly all day to get this done, it's a lot harder than one would think :(

Well, I hope you enjoy this chapter :) It was a pain to write so here's hoping the next one comes around quicker and easier than this one did!

Enjoy

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"I just don't understand why he would suddenly get so... Hostile," Munkustrap sighed after many long moments of inner contemplation. Despite his intuitive problem solving and analytical skills, he could not find any plausible explanations for the uncharacteristic bout of emotion.

Tugger simply shrugged, hoping silently that the tux would get a hold of himself before the day was over to save the tabby all this grief. He looked to his older brother; he sure liked to think things over, quite sulky in fact. "I don't know," he sighed. "He's probably still freaked about Macavity's visit last night; he went ape."

The other gave an exasperated sigh and they were soon enveloped in silence, only the distant sounds of screaming kittens and chatting cats played in the background. Then there came a stream of light, eager thuds.

The two toms' heads snapped around curiously, the strange sound continued. As they drew near, the soft thudding became a hollow, metal heartbeat. A muffled voice soon became distinguishable over the low noise. Munkustrap immediately set to finding the creature with frantic ears and determination blocking off any possible form of distraction from his now crystal clear mind. "Over here!" he called when he found the origin of the frantic knocking: an old, rusty microwave.

First thing he did was try the locking mechanism below the 'start' press. It was jammed. He and Tugger began to take turns kicking the button but no luck came from it. Fed up, the silver tabby decided to take more drastic measures. While Tugger furtively tried to talk to the cat on the other side, Munkustrap busied himself with unjamming a crowbar from a severed stump.

"Who do you think it could be?" Tugger asked curiously as he stepped back to allow the tabby room to pry the door.

"It could be someone who needs our help," Munkustrap retorted sarcastically with a slightly playful air. A few minutes of taking turns and countless swear words later; the door gave way and swung open and out fell a young, snowy queen. "Victoria?" Tugger's expression perplexed and stupidly twisted by confusion, plainly showing the cogs of his mind working at full till.

The tabby quickly knelt in front of the bewildered cat, putting a strong, paternal arm comfortingly around her."What happened?" Munkustrap's voice was smooth and calming, the authoritative undertone still strong; provoking a sobering calm to soothe the queen. She stared blankly for a moment before her mouth started to sputter out the proper response. "Macavity!" she croaked fearfully as she jerked forward and buried her head in the soft, silvery fur.

Tugger mulled over the situation, quickly coming to a terrifying realization that the tux was no where to be seen. "What happened to Quaxo?" he prompted. The young queen looked up at him through damp eyelashes, clearly confused. "Wha-?"

"What happened to him when Macavity got you?" he pressed. She looked between the two clearly unaware of the responsibility that had been bestowed on her.

"Victoria," Munkustrap caught her attention, holding her bewildered gaze with his concerned and hard stare. "When did Macavity attack you?" They watched as she ran her paw through her well-groomed headfur. "Uhh, about an hour or so?"

Tugger pulled at his headfur anxiously. "I left him with her just over half and hour ago... There's no way Macavity could have-" The three were interrupted by the sounds of great smashing glass and terrified screams. Chaos radiated from the junkyard's heart and spread through the inhabitants of the lot like wildfire. In the sounds of frantic cries; the three could clearly hear Demeter holler Macavity's name.

Munkustrap bolted from his seated position and stormed down the nearest path to the clearing. Slowly, reluctantly, Tugger collected the queen and followed suit. The clearing wasn't the safest place to be with Macavity visiting, but at least there would be other people to protect them. She whimpered softly as the sounds of her frightened peers grew louder, the magic cat's cackling driving more fear into their hearts as it grew hysteric and insane.

They soon burst into the clearing to the typical sight that comes with his brother's theatrical entrances, the cats lined the side of the clearing and watched as he tore apart their home. It didn't take long for Tugger to spot Munkustrap and Alonzo circling him as he floated to the tire. He looked to his brother but could only find a cold, hard shell of a silver tabby trying not to let on how terrified really he was. He wondered why they hadn't attacked yet until Macavity reached the tire where Old Deuteronomy usually sat. He quickly glanced around to figure that the old tom hadn't dropped in today.

Soft thudding came the sound of the Napoleon dragging a small, lame body up the steps. Upon further inspection, Tugger could easily identify the cat as Quaxo, Macavity's mis-fortunate son. The breath caught in his throat and his body tensed, the little tom looked so still save for the odd twitch or the silent words that he tried to voice. He didn't realize he was squishing the queen in his arms until she began to protest and squirm in his grasp. He let her down and she immediately bolted for Jellylorum for comfort and support.

Macavity's gaze swept the crowd, he smiled when he saw that all of Deuteronomy's followers were present and attentive; though slightly peeved his father couldn't make it to the show. He raised his kin up for the tribe to see, small gasps and whispering floated around the clustered circle of cats. His head hung low and his body swayed limply, imitating the freshly dead corpse of a hung man. Tugger's stomach knotted with a twist of nausea, he winced painfully but continued to watch as his friend's fate was being weighed.

"Unfortunately," Macavity began. His eyes once again swept the clearing, more than excited to have both his son's power at his feet and the whole Jellicle tribe groveling before him. Macavity allowed the dramatic silence to sit before continuing. "My father could not be here to see this new movement, but we'll have to make due without him." He smiled fondly at the tired body in his grasp. "So as of now, I declare the Jellicle tribe as being under new management. I honestly don't care much for protests; so I'll tell you right now that any form of insubordination will be seen as rebellion and you will be killed. It just makes my job that much easier and I find that it sets the foundation for good master-slave communication." His smile was smug and he carried himself proudly as he addressed the tribe. He was going to be a fine leader.

Munkustrap bent lower into his crouch, bothered and ready to pounce at a moment's notice. "You're only humiliating yourself-" Macavity cackled wickedly, holding his side with his one free hand to prevent himself from falling over in his hysterical excitement. "Oh, you are the one who'll be greatly humiliated! There is nothing keeping me from my right as Jellicle leader-"

"No one except the real Jellicle leader," snapped Alonzo who stood in a stance that greatly imitated his mentor's. Many of the surrounding cats nodded and shouted their agreement.

"Not even!" the magic cat snorted. He raised a menacing paw at the black spotted tom and had him flying across the clearing. His body was flung like a rag doll where he landed roughly in a box of discarded computer monitors. Munkustrap, after giving his partner a last glance, coiled up to launch himself at the Napoleon. Macavity saw this action and caught him mid air, slamming him to the ground. Hard.

A dirty, toothy grin cracked his face from ear to ear. "I wouldn't do that. You haven't even heard my generous trade off." The tabby stared up at him from his place on the ground. He breathed heavily as he regained his composure, daring the ginger cat to continue. "In my hand lies the last piece of the limitless and unmeasured power of Mistoffelees. This causes a problem for you because not only can I use this power to its full potential, but harvesting it would require me to waste this poor little tom," he finished with mocking sadness, dragging a claw down the tux's side.

Quaxo forced his eyes open when he felt his father draw him closer to his dirty body. Ghosted memories of pain and fear cropped up and made him squirm, his heart raced when a strong arm slinked around his waist to hold him close and an equally strong arm held itself against his chest for support; gripping his chin to turn it towards the older cat's face. His eyes slid closed and sealed shut when a set of dry, cracked lips rested heavily on the corner of his slightly agape mouth. A teasing tongue flicked out to evict a shudder from the tux and a reaction from his peers. Quaxo could hear distant sounds of distaste and contempt but he couldn't open his eyes to see who they came from.

Munkustrap, stared up angrily at his brother who glared back playfully."I do believe that he has grown sentimental relationships with a few of you," he said with more of an inquisitive tone, eying Munkustrap specifically but tossing a glare at Tugger as well. "It would be a shame if he were to die because of your unwillingness to cooperate. So what'll it be, Munkus? The overpowering of the tribe and the death of several Jellicles, yourself and your 'son' included; or the easy path through quiet submission?"

The tabby stared past him in thought; he didn't want to put any of his followers in danger, but he also didn't want to give them up to a life of slavery without a fight. But, if he fought, he'd lose Quaxo. He looked around in hopes of finding any answers in the faces of the petrified cats around him. His gaze rested on the blank stares of the mystic twins who sat huddled together in the open oven._ Don't believe him_, their united, calming voices echoed in the back of his mind, _he can't use the power of Mistoffelees without Quaxo. His power is weakened until their magic fully merges: just make sure you get the tux away from him and you'll have a chance._ He nodded in understanding; _great, now there's the issue of how I'm going to pull this off._

Macavity grunted unhappily. "I don't have all day," he drawled. The tabby raised his eyes to meet his older brother's, trying his best to put forth a believable look of defeat and sacrifice. "Okay," he croaked sadly. "You win." He could feel every heavy glare on him, shooting daggers for his betrayal.

Macavity watched him suspiciously, his eyes narrowing as he gaged his expression carefully. Quaxo blinked at him through half closed, heavy lids; silent tears trickled down his face slowly. After a moment of heavy silence (save for the nearly undetectable whispers among the crowd), Macavity smiled satisfactorily. "Now, that wasn't so hard." He turned to address his new subjects. "Let us celebrate our newfound freedom!"

Upon dismissal; Cassandra, Jennyanydots, and Bombalurina ran over to retrieve Alonzo who hadn't emerged from from the box. Many of the toms glared angrily at the gloating ginger cat, and the younger cats and kits were crying softly. Munkustrap humbly approached the base of the tire, holding out his arms with his head bowed in shame. "Please... give me back my son." Tugger came up to the tire to stand by the tabby quietly, staring at the lethargic tux sadly.

The magic cat looked between the two slowly, shifting the tux in his grasp so that he was dangling from his hold on his upper arm. A strained squeak that could have been an attempt at a plea hissed past his lips. Macavity thought intently, looking at the young magician in his grasp before his claws dug into the tender flesh mercilessly. The two toms below reached out to grab the young tom but were tossed back in a burst of searing light.

The blood in his veins rushed through his body and the screaming in his brain intensified. He licked his lips hungrily and quickly took to harvesting the dwindling energy source. Despite his lack of energy, Quaxo screamed hoarsely as he felt his innards contract and collapse into themselves. Bright blue and green mist escaped his lips in ribbons; floating up to disappear into his father's chest, making his fur shine brightly with power.

Quaxo's body jerked desperately as the last ounce of life was drawn from his body. Munkustrap screamed from his place on the junkyard floor as he watched his son's body dissipate into thin air; Tugger caught his shoulders from behind and held him back, trying to keep his brother from a similar fate... or worse. Soon enough, Quaxo had disappeared and Macavity was left alone on the tire.

His coat shimmered as Mistoffelees's had; his eyes contained that playful gleam they knew all too well; his voice deepened to a new level of dark... just as Mistoffelees had so many times before. Macavity grinned manically, his eyes glowing bright red with the deep undertones of a black soul.

"You low-life pollicle! You lied!" Munkustrap shrieked. This wasn't the plan! Not only were they doomed, but now Quaxo was gone. He was easily ignored for the awesome changes in Macavity's body were far too great to let anyone ruin his buzz. He watched his paws as they began to glow a hot, fiery blue. It wasn't a magic that belonged to him, but it was one he could easily control with the influence of Mistoffelees and Quaxo. The sorrowful cries of the young tux and his alter ego chimed in the back of his mind like a chorus of triangles.

The flow of new energy rushed to his head, turning his world crystal clear. He threw his head back in the pure ecstasy of the sensation. Every pore and sense re-energized and heightened to unimaginable measures. He felt beyond indestructible. "Perfect!"

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Xo Oh noes! What's going to happen now! *Set things right?* Maybe!... Maybe not O_O You think you know me well enough to guess? Perhaps... perhaps not!

Please Review :D They are so very nice :3


	16. Bittersweet

**Before you say anything, I want to stop you right now and say this:**

**Yes, I am a horrible person for making you wait this long. Yes, I regret starting this huge project without an outline and ended up dragging it out as long as I did. No, I won't skitter off and leave it to soup for another year- This is going to get DONE! I'm determined now. No, this isn't like the last 3 times I was "determined" to finish my stories.**

**If anyone is still reading I would like to thank you for your patience and continued support :) I thank my many (shockingly many!) Alert-ees for staying so... alert :P Don't give up on me just yet!**

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He felt numb. Not my-leg-is-asleep numb but devoid of any feeling, floating into oblivion numb. It took a few moments to realize he wasn't breathing… and didn't need to. Was he dead?

He couldn't remember much aside from standing- well, dangling- atop the tire with Macavity. He shuddered at the memory of his lips on him, a cold fear gripping him when he remembered the terrified faces of his friends and family. He wondered what had happened to them all.

The void— or whatever it was- around him was dark as pitch. His ears perked up to the sound of shuffling nearby. "Who's there!?" he squeaked; well, not squeak so much as— oh never mind!

Small growling noises that one could only recreate in the wildest of nightmares cackled out of the dark. Evil little sounds nipped at him from all around and only then he found he'd regained awareness of his body, just to be torn apart by unseen creatures. The nipping soon became painful biting that moved up his body. "Stop!" he screamed.

"Quaxo," someone called not too far away. He recognized the voice instantly but couldn't put a name or face to the voice. Wasting no time, he took off into the blindness towards the voice. "Where are you? I can't see... Hello?" His feet were heavy when they moved but padded lightly on a semi-solid surface, he searched frantically for the other tom. "Over here," it called again from further behind him.

He spun on his heel to catch a blurry, bluish spectra twisting gracefully a few hundred yards away. Hearing the cackling monsters pulling towards him, he whimpered and booked it back the way he came. When he reached the glowing form, he was perplexed to find that it wasn't a ghost at all— a relief to some but the lonely feeling in him cracking the rhythm-less flutter that would have been in his chest had he had one. No, it was just lantern suspended by a thin chain to a ceiling he couldn't see with his 'eyes' nor his imagination in a logic-devoid place like this.

Quaxo suppressed a sob, "Is this some kind of joke?!" He turned to the pitch black nothing around him, growing furious when his question echoes back to him. "Answer me!" he shrieked, kicking the lamp and sending it crashing to the 'ground'; boy, this place was full of surprises!

The bright blue light shattered and spread out until it had disappeared into the blackness. Quaxo fell to his knees, burying his head in his hands and sobbing into them. He could hear his cries echo around him, creepy groaning and whispering were the only things keeping him from the luxury of being truly alone. "Cat help me!" he screamed desperately into the hollow. He sniffed hopelessly as his mind hopelessly reeled, falling into the lap of his deepest fears that made death look rather nice and cozy. He was trapped in here for ever.

"No Cat. Just me." He whipped his head around to see a barely visible tom standing close beside him. A stunning moment of shock came crashing down on the tiny tux leaving him at a loss of words, croaking stupidly.

"Mistoffelees!" he finally shouted, jumping up to give the slightly taller tom a death-grip hug. Comforting arms wrapped tightly around his back, keeping him safe from the demons who nipped at his ankles. "I missed you," he mumbled into the demon's sparkling fur: the only thing making him visible in this endless void.

"I know," he replied, his voice smooth as ice yet soft, enveloping Quaxo with relief like a hot blanket. "But it took you long enough to notice I was gone." Quaxo blushed slightly; needless to say he was a little bit preoccupied.

He inhaled the bigger tom's familiar and comforting scent, regaining his focus and composure. "Quaxo," Mistoffelees said calmly. "We need to go."

Macavity basked in the glorious feeling of his new power. He decided to try out his new abilities, striking lightning this way and that with dark jubilee, charring junk piles and stabbing malicious sparks at the feet of his new staff. Munkustrap and Tugger watched on in disbelief as he soon became everyone's worst nightmare and so much more.

Munkustrap snapped, he couldn't stand by and watch his loved ones suffer. He was chosen Jellicle protector because he would do anything that needed to be done; Macavity needed to be stopped... and that's what he intended to do. Tearing from his brother's side he lunged at the cackling menace, managing with no little amount of surprise to tackle him to the ground.

He got a few good hits in at the beginning, but then Macavity decided that he wasn't a big fan of being socked in the face and, with a loud roar, flung his younger brother off of him and sent him flying to the edge of the tire.

Munkustrap growled. Macavity wanted to play dirty, using his bloody magic again to pull him to the ground with infernos of pinpricks paralyzing in his arms and legs. He opened his mouth to scream but he couldn't force out any sound. Getting—Everlasting,_ staying up_ was downright impossible. The ginger tom chuckled darkly as he slowly closed in on his prey.

Tugger watched dumbfounded from the crowd as his brother's motionless body was flipped onto its back. Fear flashed in the tabby's eyes as his head was placed to hang over the side of the black rubber, neck exposed and vulnerable. Jenny and Jelly croaked helplessly as they frantically urged the little kittens away from the sight of the imminent execution. "Don't you ever, _ever_, disobey me again!" the new Macavity roared as he raised his foot above his brother's neck.

Shrieks and pleas were offered for their friend's life, Tugger's heart twisting at the ginger cat victorious grin, loving every moment like the sick bastard he was. He caught his Munkustrap's panicked gaze, tear-filled as he deliberately gulped his last breaths.

Macavity finally decided he was finished with their bargains and stomped down. Hard. Tugger looked away, unable to watch his brother's degrading demise.

Silence slammed him harder than any blow Macavity could physically deliver, rocking the handful of Jellicles that had stayed behind.

No one spoke. No one breathed.

He slowly looked back to the stage to find Munkustrap still silently shivering on his deathbed, Macavity's foot not too far from his head. A deep rumbling sound radiated quietly from the two. The older tom breathed hard as he stared angrily at a spot on the ground in front of their pedestal, his teeth clenching and grating calculatingly.

He roared loudly as he again braced himself and drove his foot down to Munkustrap's Adam's apple, again stopping short failing to finish him off. Losing patience, he drew out his claws that began to sparkle and crack with renewed magic and strength. His paw glimmered and glowed magnificently as he raised it over his head to strike the soul out of his competitor... it never made an attack. "What?" he breathed confusedly.

Tugger smiled. Although greatly distorted by the older tom's concoction of souls and magic, he could hear Quaxo's voice peeking in the undertones of his own. Macavity sneered before giving the still paralyzed body beneath him a hard kick so that it rolled off onto the junkyard floor. Leaving his brothers Plato and Tumblebrutus, Admetus dashed over before the magic cat could have any second thoughts and snatched up the stunned Jellicle Protector.

"What's wrong, Mac?" Tugger teased. The red tom snarled in response, a sweat breaking on his brow.

"Shut up!" he roared to either the voices in his head or the smug looking Coon. Few Jellicles cried out or gasped softly as the Napoleon of Crime began gripping and pulling his hair with a blazing intensity.

Tugger's face softened, Quaxo began to shine through even more as Macavity raged over his declining control. The once deep voice soon grew shrill and demonic as Mistoffelees's distinct features manifested and incorporated into the red coat.

The ear splitting screams coming from the tyre was haunting and traumatic, sounds they'd remember for the rest of their lives. They watched in terror as the Napoleon of Crime fell to his knees, gripping and clawing at his head. Blood trickled down scarlet fur.

Before long, his cries quieted into heavy gasps and sputtering coughs, the spell drawing to an end; it seemed their aspiring magician had failed in foiling Macavity's plans.

"Quaxo!" Tugger called woefully, carefully crawling towards the breathless tom. "Quax, I know you're in there..."

Macavity snarled and fruitlessly swiped at the Coon who was too far to even consider flinching at the attack. "Shut up!"

"... And I know you can do it! I've seen you do amazing things no one's ever thought possible before..."

"Silence, you fat-headed buffoon!" Another swipe, this time managing to strike some fear in the Tugger's chest.

"...He can't hurt you anymore, Quax. You're greater than he is-" He was cut short when the scarlet tom jumped to his feet and launched himself at the golden cat. Although Tugger wasn't too much smaller than Macavity, he was hit with so much force that he was taken out as though made of paper.

He stared up at his infamous brother, his heart sank hopelessly when he saw no trace of his little tuxed friend. All he saw above him was the rage driven madtom he'd come to disown as his blood.

He wasn't sure where he acquired such taste, but Macavity really liked to play with the delicate mesh of skin and veins at his victims' necks. A dirtied, scraggly hand was thrust up under his chin to expose his vulnerable neck, tracing the familiar thick cords and bone. Tugger struggled for breath.

"I love you, Quaxo. I just wish we had more time," he whispered hoarsely. Macavity stopped, hand hovering close to his jugular.

The hideous cat blinked. A severe look on confusion flashed across his features, then intense thought, then back to crazed rage. "WHAT!?"

Before he was given opportunity to unleash his full unaltered force upon the gold tom Macavity's chest burst open with a crack of white, flinging him like a ragdoll to the ground.

Sparks burst through his skin like a knife through air, tearing him apart from the inside out. His blood curdling screams distorted when the pitch of the great demon again made itself known. This time the sound more menacing and deadly than before.

The cries and yelps were cut short when the skin of his neck bulged and gave way revealing the torn blood vessels and snapping the bone like glass twigs.

A small twitch of the corpse was the last movement they'd ever see from the Napoleon of Crime.

Tugger stared in shock, only daring to avert his gaze to look and see if the others had seen the same as he had. Munkustrap, sitting up weakly in Admetus' grasp, sported a look of sheer horror as he blankly stared at the still cadaver. They exchanged numb looks before resuming their own private gawking.

In the remains, a small glow began to ebb from Macavity's gaping heart. It was very subtle at first but once it began to bloom it shone brilliantly and brought with it an eerie calm in the wake of the violent self-destruction.

It soon grew past the dead tom to spill out onto the bloodied junkyard floor and creep out to the edges of the clearing. Someone yelled for the others to get back when it showed no sign of stopping and began to collect at Tugger's heels.

A thick layer of bright, heavenly light that sparked and fizzed set over the ground before slowly dimming away, leaving behind a misty fog. The clouds were just thin enough to reveal two new bodies lying limply by the bloodied open corpse of the late Macavity.

Tugger scanned one of the newer bodies until he found the all too familiar sparks and sheen of his dear magician. "Quaxo!"

Ignoring the ghastly sight beside him, Tugger ran to his friend's side; he nearly threw himself at the tiny tom. Turning him onto his back, he wasn't met with the kind face of his little tuxedo friend, but the black, sharp features of an unknown tom.

Slowly, it slid an eye open to glance up weakly at the coon. "Rum Tum Tugger," he sighed with a small smile, as if he was expecting the Tugger to be first at his side though a bit disappointed that to be the case.

On Macavity's opposite flank Munkustrap was kneeling down low and softly murmuring to something beneath the fog, smiling. "Where is he?" a small voice inquired sadly, Munkustrap's gaze immediately met Tugger's and the pathetic creature in his arms.

From the thinning mist, Quaxo sat up tiredly and, peering over Macavity's lifeless corpse, caught sight of the coon and his charge. A strangled, low sob choked sadly in his throat as he clambered over to the black cat.

"Mistoffelees?" Quaxo rasped and took the bigger tom from Tugger's arms, cradling him like a kitten against his chest. The all black creature shuddered against him and lolled his head back to look up at his tuxed counterpart, calm blue eyes staring fondly into Quaxo's searching gaze. His chin quivered and around them the brilliant fog darkened.

Mistoffelees struggled for breath but smiled sweetly up at the tux. "You're good," he rasped. "You don't need me anymore."

Tears began to fall, rolling off of Quaxo's cheeks and onto Mistoffelees' pitch black coat; from where he sat it looked to Tugger as though the tears fell up, Mistoffelees melting into the young Quaxo. At this point he wouldn't be surprised. "What are you saying?" the tux cried, gripping his friend tighter.

"You'll do great things, I..." Mistoffelees reared back and gasped for air that just wouldn't come. Tugger swallowed hard and fought back the urge to moan pitifully at the sight of the dying tom he knew (but found incredibly difficult to comprehend) had been a huge part of Quaxo's life.

Beside the two black cats Munkustrap shook hard, running on the last bit of nerves. He reached out to gently lay a paw on Mistoffelees, but Quaxo wouldn't have any of his goodbyes and moaned his protests until Mistoffelees stopped him with a firm paw on his chest. The fingers blurred and unraveled at the ends in ribbons, coiling around the young Quaxo and leaving his fur shiny and shimmering under the growing twilight. "I know you'll be fine."

"You can't leave me!" Quaxo sobbed uselessly. "Please! I need you—" his cries grew frantic and incoherent when the slow trickle of Mistoffelees's body heaved and all but fell apart into a weightless blanket of smoke and licks of black in tiny arms. "Mistoffelees!" the tux screamed, fingers clutching at the wisps of black shimmer bleeding into his arms in vain.

With Mistoffelees gone, the last of the black duo wailed and collapsed into Munkustrap's outstretched arms. Munkustrap himself looked terrifyingly close to tears. Tugger, because he could and no one (if there was anyone left hanging around) was going to get to see him cry today, threw himself at the huddled toms, crushing them both in his arms and burying his face in Quaxo's headfur.

Even though he'd only met the real, singular Mistoffelees the one time Tugger had felt the emptiness he'd left behind instantaneously. Even the night Macavity came in and tore Quaxo to tiny, irreparable pieces, he'd never seen the tux look so destroyed and vulnerable.

He hoped Mistoffelees was right about Quaxo being fine; Tugger wasn't sure how much more the tux could survive at this point.


End file.
